Canadians move ahead in hurdles at world indoor track championships in Qatar

DOHA, Qatar - Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep had the fastest time in 60-metre hurdles qualifying Friday at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

The hurdler from Whitby, Ont., won her heat in 7.94 seconds. Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., also advanced after finishing third in her heat in 8.04 seconds.

The semifinals and final go Saturday.

"I had a bad start and I didn't press at the finish, so it was a nice easy run to move on to the next round," Lopes-Schliep said.

The 27-year-old was coming off a couple of rough races since she set the world-leading time of 7.82 in February.

"I'm very happy to be back on point," Lopes-Schliep said. "I was able to get some good work in with my coach and physio team.

"Next stop is the semi, I hope to keep running strong into the final and push for medal."

Dyan Armstrong of Kamloops, B.C., advanced to the shot put final, finishing second in his qualifying group with a throw of 20.5 metres.

Christian Cantwell qualified on his first attempt in the shot put with a toss of 20.72. The American outdoor world champion is looking for his third world indoor title.

Earlier, Britain's Dwain Chambers ran the fastest qualifying time in the 60 metres.

Still trying to overcome the stigma of his doping past, the 30-year-old British sprinter breezed into Saturday's semifinal in 6.59 seconds, showing that his comeback from a two-year doping ban continues to pick up speed.

"It's early days," Chambers said. "I've got to keep an eye on my opposition. So far it's going really well."

American Trell Kimmons ran the second-fastest qualifying time of 6.61 seconds. He was a late replacement for Ivory Williams, who was dropped from the team after testing positive for marijuana.

Yelena Isinbayeva qualified for the pole vault final on her last attempt, only months after she was eliminated from the world outdoor championships for failing to clear a height. The Olympic champion from Russia was facing the same situation when she prepared for her third and final attempt at 4.55 metres. This time, she made it to Saturday's final.

"Now I am looking forward to the final with the aim to win and break the world record," Isinbayeva said.

Kelsie Hendry of Saskatoon cleared 4.45 to move on.

Kalkidan Gezahegne of Ethiopia was the fastest qualifier in the women's 1,500 metres in 4:08.91. Nicole Edwards of Winnipeg was ninth in her heat in 4:16.46 and did not advance to Sunday's final.

Defending champion Blanka Vlasic was flawless in qualifying for the high jump final.

The Croatian cleared all heights up to 1.92 metres to reach Saturday's final, as did Ruth Beitia of Spain and Marina Aitova of Kazakhstan.

Vlasic is the overwhelming favourite to extend her world indoor reign. Even though she has fallen short on big occasions in the past, Vlasic showed no jitters on the opening day of competition at the Aspire Dome.

"I did what was necessary," Vlasic said. "Now I can relax."

Vlasic comes into the competition with the season's three best performances. She cleared 2.06 metres in Arnstadt, Germany, to move into a tie as the No. 3 indoor jumper of all time, fuelling talk of another run at the world record.

And in Doha she won't even have to face her main rival, Ariane Friedrich of Germany, who is out injured.

The men's heptathlon was billed as an American battle between Olympic champion Bryan Clay and world champion Trey Hardee, but after two events, Oleksiy Kasyanov of Ukraine was leading.

Clay won the opening 60 metres in 6.67 seconds, .13 seconds ahead of Hardee. Kasyanov was well back at 6.93. But Clay botched his long jump, largely because he failed to properly time his runup.

"I was running down the runway fast but I was too close and chopping up real bad," Clay said. "I'm actually surprised I got the three fair jumps I did because I was having to chop it up pretty bad."

The poor jump left him with a mark of 7.27 metres, while Kasyanov leapt 7.78 for the lead. Hardee, who jumped 7.28, was third after the opening session.

"Not bad, but I was expecting more," said Kasyanov, who is expected to extend his lead during the shot put later Friday.

The shot put and high jump complete Friday's session, with the 60 hurdles, pole vault and closing 1,000 metres set for Saturday.

"We'll take our break and move on," Clay said.

Olympic pole vault Steve Hooker only needed one jump of 5.60 metres to qualify for Saturday's final. But European indoor champion Renaud Lavillenie, who has jumped 6.01 outdoors, failed three times to clear 5.60 and will not compete in the final.

"It's disappointing for Renaud but there are very big things ahead for him," Hooker said. "I'm disappointed I won't be jumping against him in the final."

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With files from The Associated Press