By Mitch Phillips
PARIS (Reuters) – American hot favourite Grant Holloway continued to look a class apart in the 110 metres hurdles on Wednesday as he qualified fastest for the Olympic final, where three Americans will face three Jamaicans.
The triple world champion, surprisingly beaten by Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment in Tokyo, got his usual explosive start and was a metre clear by the third barrier.
Holloway hit the line in 12.98 seconds, the only man under 13 in the three heats, and will need to mess up badly to miss out on gold in Thursday’s final.
The 110 hurdles is an event in which the U.S. has astonishing historical dominance.
They have 19 gold, 21 silver and 17 bronze in a total of 57 medals. Aries Merritt’s win in 2012, however, is their only gold in the last six Games.
The Americans will have a triple shot at another after Freddie Crittenden completed his circuitous route to the final.
Crittenden came through via the repechage round in a calculated decision after jogging his heat to earn a couple of extra days of recovery for a groin strain.
He qualified in 13.23 on Wednesday behind heat winner Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica.
Daniel Roberts completed the lineup of the three Americans, who are the three fastest in the world this year – all three times posted at the U.S. trials.
Orlando Bennett won the final heat in 13.09 and his fellow Jamaican as defending champion Parchment continued his unusual route to the final.
Parchment finished fifth in his heat, one of four athletes given times of 13.43 seconds behind winner Xu Zhuoyi (13.40), but still scraped into the semis.
He made another terrible start on Wednesday and, though he recovered well to equal his season’s best of 13.19 finished third in his heat.
That gave him another anxious wait before going through as one of the fastest losers – albeit in the fifth-quickest time of the eight finalists.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond)
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