David Oliver was winding his way through a gauntlet of microphones and notepads in the mixed zone Wednesday night when he suddenly decided he wanted out of the sweaty scrum.

So what does a hurdler do?

As surprised officials looked on, the Denver East High School graduate stepped over a waist-high barrier and hurried away, already preparing for the race of his life - today's 110-meter hurdle final at National Stadium.

If the semifinals are an indication, Oliver has some work to do. Though he won his heat, a disappointing 13.31-second clocking left him sarcastically laughing in the finish area, where his mother, Brenda, was stationed.

"I was just glad to look up and see I had a 'Q' by my name," he said. "At this stage, that's all that matters - surviving and advancing. . . . I got ahead and just started blowing hurdles. I should have stayed on it more. I don't even know what happened."

The field for the final suddenly is wide open - more so, anyway, than a few days ago.

The reigning Olympic gold and silver medalists - Liu Xiang of China and Terrence Trammell of the U.S. - were wiped out by injuries in the preliminaries, leaving world record-holder Dayron Robles of Cuba an obvious favorite.

He won his heat in 13.12, well ahead of American runner-up David Payne (13.21).

Oliver, who clocked the ninth- fastest time in history earlier in the year, declined to handicap the favorites.

"It's between (Robles), me and six other competitors. Everyone has the same opportunity to win the gold as he does," said Oliver, who finished with the fourth-fastest overall time in the semifinals. "I just have to execute a little better (today)."