Defending champ Shawn Barber advances to pole vault final at worlds

Canada's Shawn Barber will get the chance to defend his world pole vault title after advancing to the final on Sunday at the IAAF track and field world championships in London.

Barber's successful attempt at 5.70 metres sealed his spot in the final.

"I think I can be a little more crisp on the runway and more crisp with my jump," Barber told CBC Sports. "Hopefully the winds cooperate in a couple days. They were a little rough out there today. It should be a great competition."

Joining Barber in the final on Tuesday at 2:35 p.m. ET are 11 other competitors, including Renaud Lavillenie of France, American Sam Kendricks, and the youngest pole vaulter to appear in a world championship fina, 17-year-old Swede Armand Duplantis.

McBride shines in 800m semis

Brandon McBride of Windsor, Ont., earned a spot in the 800m final by finishing first in his heat with a time of one minute, 45.53 seconds.

The 23-year-old led from start to finish.

"We just wanted to create a little bit of space because we've learned in the Diamond Leagues that I don't like running in the pack and that really helped move me forward," McBride said.

"I'm just so happy to make it to the final and now we're just going to refocus and attack that final in two days."

The final will take place on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. ET.

Hughes moves on

Canada's Matt Hughes is through to the steeplechase final, finishing in 8:24.79.

Evan Jager of the United States was the top qualifier and is trying to break the 30-year stranglehold of Kenyan and Kenyan-born runners on the event.

Jager was in control all through and finished in 8:20.36 seconds. The top Kenyan in Jager's heat was fourth and Ezekiel Kemboi, a four-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion, qualified only as one of the fastest finishers outside the three automatic qualifying spots.

The last runner who was born outside Kenya to win was Francesco Panetta of Italy at the 1987 world championships in Rome.

Gleadle earns spot in javelin final

Canadian Liz Gleadle qualified 10th overall in the semifinal and has advanced to the javelin final.

Gleadle threw a distance of 62.97m to secure her spot.

"Anything can happen in a final," Gleadle said. "The nerve-racking part is getting through everybody. There [are] so many great throwers here."

China's Huihui Lyu was the top qaulifier with a throw of 67.59.

Emmanuel runs PB, but misses 100m final

Toronto's Crystal Emmanuel matched her personal-best mark of 11.14 seconds, but finished fourth in her heat and did not qualify for the 100m final.

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson set the top time overall with 10.84.

Emmanuel, 25, won gold in the 100 and 200 at the Canadian championships in Ottawa in July.

"It was an amazing performance. I can always say that," Emmanuel said. "I came out here and execution was on point. I just have to speed it up some more."

The sprinter will now turn her attention to the 200 race on Tuesday.

Hamstring gets Cabral in hurdles semis

Canadian hurdler Johnathan Cabral advanced to the semifinals of the men's 110m hurdles, but he finished seventh in a field of eight competitors with a time of 14.98.

Cabral fell off the pace when he appeared to be battling through an injury. The 24-year-old said he had some good momentum going until his hamstring acted up.

"Unfortunately my hamstring kind of grabbed on me a little bit and I guess I just didn't have what it takes to run through it," Cabral told CBC Sports.

Cabral reached the semis by scoring a qualifying time of 13.53.

Newman, Newell take on pole vault final

Alysha Newman had the best showing for Canada in the women's pole vault final. Newman's best clear was 4.65m, but she missed her third attempt at 4.75.

Teammate Anicka Newell cleared 4.45, but missed her third attempt at 4.55.

Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece won the event with a height of 4.82.