30.08.2007 16:03

Quiñónez through to Osaka hurdles final

Carles Cascante

FC Barcelona athlete Jackson Quiñónez has qualified for the men’s 110 metres hurdles final at the Osaka 2007 IAAF World Championships and has also established a new Spanish record in the event.

Quiñónez, who had to wait various minutes to find out if he had reached the final, has set a new Spanish record of 13.33 seconds, beating his own personal best. The final is on Friday at 22.20 local time.

The Barça athlete told reporters of his delight at reaching the final in such an important international event: “At last. Now I can feel happy. My big objective was to come here and make the final. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to be a finalist in a World Championship. After the final I’ll think of another, which will be a medal or whatever. Reaching the final is already a prize for me. Let’s see what we can do”.

Olmedo through to next heat of 800m

Meanwhile, Manuel Olmedo, who wore a black ribbon in memory of recently deceased Sevilla footballer, Antonio Puerta, is through to the next heat of the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1min 45.90 secs.
Olmedo started badly but then tried to go past the pack on the inside, where he was boxed in. He tried to make another break that was also blocked. On the final straight, Olmedo sprinted past three opponents before being clearly pushed by the Latvian Milkevics. However, he clinched a place in the next heat as one of the six fastest runners outside the top three. The other two Spanish athletes taking part in the 800 metres, Manuel Antonio Reina and Eugenio Barrios, failed to classify.