Facing another early exit, Isinbayeva qualifies for world pole vault final on last attempt

Isinbayeva reaches worlds final on last attempt

DOHA, Qatar — Yelena Isinbayeva qualified for the pole vault final at the world indoor championships on her last attempt Friday.

Only months after she was eliminated from the world outdoor championships for failing to clear a height, the Olympic champion from Russia was facing the same situation when she prepared for her third and final attempt at 14 feet, 11¼ inches.

This time, she made it to Saturday’s final.

“Now I am looking forward to the final with the aim to win and break the world record,” she said of what would be her 28th world record if she goes beyond 16-5 Saturday.

She was not the only champion in trouble on opening day. Defending 60 hurdles champion Liu Xiang was also less than convincing as he qualified for the semifinals of the 60-meter hurdles by finishing third in his heat.

Liu has been dealing with a foot injury for two years and is not in top form. The 2004 Olympic champion finished in 7.79 seconds, his season’s best but only the 15th-best time.

“My tendon is sore. I feel like I have no energy, no power in it,” he said through a translator. “My target is only to get into the final. It’s impossible for me to get the medal.”

Americans David Oliver and double indoor world champion Terrence Trammell shared the best qualifying time of 7.60. Reigning Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba won his heat in 7.74 seconds despite a slow start out of the blocks.

Panama’s Olympic long jump champion Irving Saladino was eliminated with a jump of 25-7¼, just short of the last qualifying jump of 25-10¼.

In the pole vault, European indoor champion Renaud Lavillenie failed three times to clear 18-4½. In contrast, Olympic champion Steve Hooker only needed one jump to qualify for Saturday’s final.

“I’m disappointed I won’t be jumping against him in the final,” Hooker said.

The men’s heptathlon was billed as an American battle between Olympic champion Bryan Clay and world champion Trey Hardee.

But after four of seven events, Clay leads with 3,549 points, just one ahead of Aleksey Drozdov of Russia. Oleksiy Kasyanov of Ukraine was in bronze-medal position with 3,477, while Hardee was fifth with 3,450.