World Championships Round-Up: Kanter in the Final
Former Olympic discus gold medalist Gerd Kanter has breezed through the qualifying round at the Moscow track and field World Championships.
Kanter threw 65.64 meters in his first attempt, making the 65-meter threshold needed to qualify for the final.
Only two others managed to pass the 65-meter mark, and the threshold was lowered to 62.45 meters.
Lithuania's Virgilijus Alekna, now 41 years old, winner of two Olympic golds and two World Championships, and fourth behind Kanter at the last Olympic games, did not make the cut.
The final begins at 18:00 Estonian time on Tuesday.
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Rasmus Mägi cleared the path to the semifinals of the 400 meter hurdles event, coming third in his relay with a time of 49.63 seconds.
Mägi broke the Estonian record earlier this year, clocking a time of 49.19 seconds at the U23 European Championships.
The semi-finals will be held tomorrow, at 18:40 Estonian time.
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Women's heptathlon hopeful Grit Šadeiko is on schedule to renew her Estonian national record, which she set only in June.
She was fifth overall in the 100 meter hurdles event with a personal best of 13.40 seconds, 0.22 faster than during the June competition.
In the high jump Šadeiko cleared 1.77 meters, slightly less than two months ago.
The remaining five fields will take place today and tomorrow.
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In the men's combined event, Estonian athletes disappointed, with Mikk Pahapill finishing 17th and Maicel Uibo 19th overall.
Pahapill collected 8,170 points, more than 200 short of his personal best, while young hopeful Uibo, who only recently took his personal mark to 8,223 points, had to settle for 7,850 in Moscow on Sunday.