Pascal Martinot-Lagarde in the 60m hurdles at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 (© Getty Images)
The three fastest men in the field confirmed their medal ambitions by winning their respective heats: France’s world leader Dimitri Bascou, 2014 world indoor silver medallist Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Jamaica’s Omar McLeod.
Martinot-Lagarde closed the first round with the second-fastest time ever for the heats in the history of the World Indoor Championships with 7.48, 0.01 second slower than his season’s best. Bascou and McLeod also won comfortably with identical times of 7.58.
The US duo of Jarret Eaton and Spencer Adams also made it to the semifinals as they aim to keep the 60m title in the US two years after Omo Osaghae’s victory in Sopot.
All top contenders are also through to Saturday’s semifinals, including Hungary’s Balazs Baji and Shane Brathwaite of Barbados.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
