VALENCIA, Spain — Dayron Robles was eliminated in the 60-metre hurdles heats on Saturday when he wrongly assumed a false start, robbing the world indoor championships of its most captivating duel.
In the women's hurdles, world record holder Susanna Kallur pulled out with a hamstring injury she sustained during her warmup for the semifinals, robbing the Swede of a gold which seemed destined for her.
Meseret Defar won her third straight 3,000 metre title on Saturday, leading a 1-2 Ethiopian finish ahead of Meselech Melkamu. In a slow race, Defar kicked for home with 400 metres to go and, predictably, no one could match it.
Cuba's Robles was alongside his main rival, China's Olympic champion Liu Xiang, in the second heat when the starting gun fired. All other racers went off but Robles casually got up before realizing his mistake.
Liu said Robles might have been fooled by his lightning fast start, which was just .005 seconds within the legal limits.
"I feel that this put him off," Liu said. "It is better to continue running until you hear the second pistol."
Stanislavs Olijars of Latvia won the heat in 7.72 seconds, .01 ahead of Liu. Robles tried to catch up but finished last in 8.53. It was the second time Robles committed such an error this season after Paris last month.
The 21-year old sprinter grabbed his head in despair and fell to the track after the race, with Liu kneeling down beside him. Robles sat disbelieving for several more minutes before he left the track without making any comment.
The Liu-Robles clash was highly anticipated and seen as a major test ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
"It is a shame because I wanted to run against him. He is my reference in the 60 metres hurdles," Liu said.
Instead, Spain's Jackson Quinonez had the fastest qualifying time of 7.58 seconds. Triple indoor champion Allen Johnson of the United States went through in 7.67.
"I feel for him (Robles) especially because I can relate to what he's going through. It's disappointing," Johnson said. "It does take away from the event. I don't want to get a medal and think that if another person was there I might not have."
The semifinals and final take place later Saturday. It is Liu's first indoor competition this season and his first real test in months. The world outdoor champion has tried to play down expectations, saying a top-three finish would be enough.
So far, Liu won bronze in 2003, silver in 2004 and did not compete in Moscow two years ago.
Robles was silver medallist in Moscow two years ago.
The second day of the championships has eight finals, including Yelena Isinbayeva in the pole vault and Meseret Defar in the 3,000. Both the Russian and the Ethiopian are going for their third indoor gold medal in a row.
