BEIJING - James Steacy of Lethbridge, Alta., finished 12th in the men's hammer throw final Sunday in his Olympic debut, while Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby, Ont., cruised through to a spot in the semifinal of the women's 100-metre hurdles.
The 24-year-old Steacy, the youngest of the 12 throwers in the final, threw 75.72 metres. Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia won the gold with 82.02, while Belarus athletes won silver and bronze with Vadim Devyatovsky taking second with 81.61, and Ivan Tsikhan the bronze with 81.51.
Lopes-Schliep, considered a serious threat for a medal after winning a Grand Prix meet in Stockholm last month, was second in her preliminary-round heat easing up at the line to finish in 12.75 seconds. Jamaica's Vonette Dixon won the heat in 12.69.
"Winning that race in Stockholm, that's what I needed, coming in here off a 12.61 (from Sweden),'' said Lopes-Schliep, who turns 26 later this month. "I'm hoping to do that in the next round, so hopefully I can do that and better, and just keep the time coming down.''
Angela Whyte of Edmonton, sixth at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, was eliminated.
Whyte, who's coming off knee surgery she underwent in the winter, was fifth in her heat in 13.11. Delloreen Ennis-London of Jamaica was first in 12.82. Whyte lost her rhythm over the final 50 metres, hitting the final four hurdles.
"That's the name of the game, you've got to get over them,'' Whyte said.
The 28-year-old Whyte fought back tears after the race.
"It sucks, you go from an extreme high to an extreme low,'' Whyte said. "I'll just be pissed off for the next two to 10 hours, I'll get over it and move on for next year.''
Canada's third world-class sprinter, Perdita Felicien, is working in the broadcast booth at the Olympics, sidelined with a stress fracture in her foot.
The hurdles started off a busy schedule for Canadians on a breezy night at the Bird's Nest stadium. Mike Mason of Nanoose Bay, B.C., was in the high jump, Toronto's Carline Muir was racing in the women's 400 metre semifinal, three-time Olympian Kevin Sullivan of Brantford, Ont., and Nate Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., raced the semis of the 1,500 metres, and Eric Gillis of Antigonish, N.S., capped the night with the men's 10,000.
