World Record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba looks frustrated after his heat of the men's 110m Hurdles in the Berlin Olympic Stadium (© Getty Images)
A frankly bizarre first round of the men's 100m Hurdles has suddenly thrown the event wide open, and question marks now hang over the heads of the medal favourites - including Dayron Robles.
The World record-holder from Cuba lined up in lane one of the second heat, but inexplicably got off to a sluggish start and did not attack the first hurdle. Eventually Robles got into his stride, but was left with a lot of work to do and never really looked in the race.
A late charge off the final hurdle was just enough to grab third place in 13.67 behind Jamaica's Maurice Wignall (13.62) and Germany's Helge Schwarzer (13.66). On closer inspection Robles was wearing a bandage underneath his kit. He explained to the press afterwards that the injury he had been trying to keep at bay all year had resurfaced and his main aim was simply to make it to the semi finals. Things certainly aren't looking good for Robles in his quest to win his first World title.
In the absence of defending champion Liu Xiang, his Chinese countryman two-time World finalist Shi Dongpeng won heat one in 13.56 ahead of Jamaica's Dwight Thomas (13.57) and Jackson Quinonez of Spain (13.63). British hope Andy Turner, who had suffered a hamstring injury at the pre-championship training camp, could manage no better than 13.73 for fifth.
The focus then shifted to Aries Merritt, the clear class-act of heat three. But he looked even less convincing than Robles and finished fourth, outside the top three qualifying spots, and his 13.70 was not good enough for a fastest loser spot. It transpired that Merritt had twisted his ankle before the race.
Finishing ahead of Merritt in a blanket finish were Garfield Darien of France, Petr Svoboda of the Czech Republic and Olympic finalist Artur Noga of Poland, all clocking 13.56.
Merritt's US team-mates fared marginally better, but also failed to win their heats. Terrence Trammell was second behind China's Ji Wei in heat five, both clocking 13.51, with Gregory Sedoc of the Netherlands close behind in 13.54. Dmitri Bascou of France (13.55) and Shamar Sands of the Bahamas (13.57) finished fourth and fifth, grabbing fastest loser spots.
Olympic silver medallist David Payne of the USA was relegated to third in the sixth and final heat as Hungary's Daniel Kiss blizted to a 13.34 clocking to smash his PB and improve the 12-year-old Hungarian record. Paulo Villar of Colombia finished in between Kiss and Payne in 13.52, while Dayron Copetillo of Cuba ran 13.61 to make it through to the semis as a fastest loser.
Heat four was the only race that bucked the trend as race favourite Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados cruised through in a time of 13.35. Alexander John of Germany made it safely through in 13.41, as did William Sharman of Britain (13.52). Latvia's Stanislav Olijar (13.59), Maksim Lynsha of Belarus (13.61) and Russia's Yevgeniy Borisov (13.63) also went through as fastest losers.
If someone were to predict the outcome of the final based on today's heats alone, most of the pre-championship favourites probably would not feature on the podium. And while the injured Robles is no longer the big favourite he once was, the past achievements of the likes of Trammell and Payne can never be discounted, and tomorrow's semi finals will likely paint a truer picture of their form. But will it be enough to keep Kiss and Brathwaite at bay?
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
