Olympics-Athletics-McLeod qualifies fastest for high hurdles final

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Jamaica's Omar McLeod blazed down the Rio track in 13.15 seconds for the fastest time of the 110 metres hurdles semi-finals as all the leading title contenders progressed to the Olympic final on Tuesday. McLeod, the only man to have gone below 13 seconds this year, is hoping to become the Caribbean island's first Olympic high hurdles champion later on Tuesday but looks to face a stiff challenge from a trio of Europeans. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde finished second in the second heat behind McLeod in 13.25, while his fellow Frenchman Dimitri Bascou confirmed his fine form by blitzing the field in the third semi in 13.23. Cuban-born Spaniard Orlando Ortega won the opening heat in 13.32 ahead of the top American on the timesheets, Ronnie Ash (13.36). Ash's compatriot Devon Allen, the second fastest man in the world this year, also ran 13.36 but had to wait to see if he would qualify on time after finishing third behind McLeod and Martinot-Lagarde. Milan Trajkovic, who ran a Cypriot record 13.31, and Canadian Johnathan Cabral (13.41) will round out the final. Olympic champion and world record holder Aries Merritt failed to qualify for Rio from the U.S. trials less than a year after undergoing a kidney transplant. World champion Sergey Shubenkov was unable to take part at the Games because of the IAAF ban on Russian athletes. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Peter Rutherford)