Dayron Robles of Cuba celebrates with his country's national flag after winning the men's 110 metre hurdles at the IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting at Letzigrund stadium in Zurich, Sept 8, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Cuba's Dayron Robles, looking to make up for being stripped of the gold medal at the world championships, cruised through the Pan-American Games high hurdles semi-finals on Thursday.

The Olympic champion and world record holder, disqualified for barging past China's Liu Xiang as he won the world championship final in Daegu in August, clocked a comfortable 13.22 seconds as the fastest qualifier for Friday's final.

Compatriot Alexis Copello, who was fourth in the triple jump in South Korea, won the Pan-Am title with a leap of 17.21 metres ahead of fellow Cuban Yoandris Betanzos, who took the silver medal.

As a yardstick for the relative quality of the world championships and quadrennial Pan-Am Games, Copello and Yoandris were the only competitors involved in both and the winner's leap was 26 centimetres shorter than he had managed in Daegu.

Copello won the final with his first leap whereas Yoandris stole in to second place with his last, pushing Brazil's Jefferson Sabino into the bronze position and Argentine Maximiliano Diaz out of the medals.

Brazilian Marilon Santos won a slow men's 10,000 metres in extreme mid-afternoon heat in a time of just over 29 minutes, nearly two minutes outside the Games record and almost three slower than Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele's world record.

Second-placed Mexican Juan Carlos Romero came in 40 seconds behind Santos, whose compatriot Giovani dos Santos won bronze.

There were more victories for Cuba, who lead the athletics medals table and hope to overtake Brazil in the overall standings and finish the Games in second place behind the United States.