DOHA, Qatar - Christian Cantwell's automatic qualifier and the fastest qualifying times in the men's and women's 400m by Jamaal Torrance and Debbie Dunn highlighted Day 1's morning session at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, March 12-14, in the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar.
In the first round of the women's 400m, 2010 USA Indoor champion Debbie Dunn had the fastest qualifier of the morning, winning her heat in 52.24. DeeDee Trotter tied for the win in her heat, crossing the line in 52.75. On the men's side, 2009 USA Indoor champ Jamaal Torrance had the fastest qualifier in winning his heat in 46.70. Two-time World Outdoor 400m hurdles medalist Bershawn Jackson won his heat in 46.87.
Two-time World Indoor champion Christian Cantwell qualified for the final of the men's shot put on his first throw with a heave of 20.72m/670in75. 2008 NCAA Outdoor champion Cory Martin was tenth in qualifying with a best effort of 20.23m/660in5 and did not advance to the final.
World-ranked #2 over 800m for 2009, Anna Pierce won heat 1 of the women's 800m in 2:03.05 while Alysia Johnson placed third in heat 2 with 2:01.55 and advanced to Sunday's final on time. 2006 NACAC U23 champion Duane Solomon finished third in heat 4 of the men's 800m in 1:49.69 and advanced to tomorrow's semifinal by time. Two-time USA Indoor champion Nick Symmonds was disqualified from heat 1 for a lane violation. Symmonds was flagged for running on the line 10 meters before the break.
2005 World Outdoor silver medalist Chaunte Howard Lowe advanced to the final of the women's high jump with her clearance of 1.92m/60in5. 2008 Olympian Derek Miles qualified for the final in the men's pole vault with his clearance of 5.60m/180in5 while 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack cleared 5.45m/170in5 and did not advance.
2010 USA Indoor champion Erica McLain finished 13th in women's triple jump qualifying with a hop, skip and jump of 13.54m/440in25.
This year's edition of the IAAF World Indoor Championships will be streamed LIVE on Universal Sports and replayed on TV each night at 6 p.m. ET. For more information, go to www.universalsports.com.
For more information on Team USA and the World Indoor Championships, visit USATF.org.
Day 1 Team USA morning quotes from Doha
Debbie Dunn, women's 400m first round
"I stayed in the lines. It was a good race. I just wanted to go out thee and win my heat because I have to run again tonight."
DeeDee Trotter, women's 400m first round
"I was tying to take it easy because we have another round tonight. I'm confident that I got it. I let up at the finish though. I forgot that these girls were running for their lives, I was trying to conserve for tonight."
Cory Martin, men's shot put qualifying
"I'm a little disappointed with how I threw, but hopefully I can squeak into the final."
Bershawn Jackson, men's 400m first round
"It felt good but I am a little tired. I just had to get the first one done which is the hardest part. Now it is time to get ready for tonight."
Jamaal Torrance, men's 400m fist round
"It was alright. I felt a little sluggish but I will be good for tonight. The track here is pretty good."
Nick Symmonds, men's 800m first round
"Good, it felt really good. It was faster than I thought it would be."
Duane Solomon, men's 800m first round
"It's all right. I don't know. I don't know what happened in my race. Just have to try and make it up in the next round."
Derek Miles, men's pole vault qualifying
"It was long. The standards broke. That tends to happen a lot with these. It happened in Beijing and Helsinki too. You just have to get through it.
It was ok though. At my age, it's good to get two jumps and out. The less energy I can spend to get into the final the better. I'm very excited for tomorrow night."
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit USATF.org.
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