MOSCOW, August 12 (R-Sport) - While half the eight-man field in the 110-meter hurdles final at the world athletics championships will hail from the United States, it was Russia's Sergey Shubenkov who emerged as the man to beat after the semifinals on Monday.
Shubenkov, the 22-year-old European champion, won the second of two heats with a time of 13.17, beating the fearsome American foursome of defending world champion Jason Richardson, London 2012 gold medalist Aries Merritt, David Oliver and Ryan Wilson.
Oliver finished second in heat two, clocking a 13.18, well off his season-best time of 13.03.
The top four contenders heading into the final - Shubenkov, Oliver, Wilson and Jamaica's Andrew Riley - came out of the second heat, which on paper seemed inferior to a first heat featuring Merritt, Richardson and London bronze medalist Hansle Parchment of Jamaica.
Merritt had a disappointing showing, however, and was the last to qualify at 13.44. Richardson led his heat at 13.34, but that was only good for fifth overall. Parchment's fall paved the way for France's Thomas Martinot-Lagarde, who earned an automatic qualification with a second-place time of 13.39.
Riley and Britain's William Sharman reach the final as the fastest losers.
The final goes Monday at 9:30 p.m. at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium.
