Damian Warner trails Ashton Eaton after Day 1 of decathlon

Canada's Damian Warner finished the opening day of the decathlon at the world track and field championships in Beijing with his best first-day points total ever, but it wasn't enough to catch American Ashton Eaton.

• Canada's Drouin soars to high jump final
• RESULTS: World track and field championships
• BROADCAST SCHEDULE: Track & field worlds on CBC, CBCSports.ca

Warner's 4,530 points are 70 more than he had after Day 1 at last month's Pan Am Games, where he went on to win with a Canadian record of 8,659.

But Eaton, the reigning Olympic and world champion and world record holder, pulled away Friday with 4,703 points after winning the 400 metres in a world championship record 45 seconds flat.

Eaton is the husband of Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton, who won silver in her event.

Though Warner hit personal bests in the shot put (14.44 metres) and long jump (7.65 metres), it was the high jump that encouraged him the most. He jumped a season-best 2.04m after problems in that event earlier this season.

"I'm happy with the first day," said the London, Ont., native. "There are some events I would like to do better in, the 400 being one of them. But I'm in a great spot going into [the final five events on Saturday]."

Nettey comes up short in long jump

With a look of disappointment etched on her face, Christabel Nettey wandered into the mixed zone after finishing fourth in the women's long jump final.

Nettey's competitive nature is such that she could not be satisfied with the fact she had beaten some of the world's best jumpers and, at her young age, can build upon this performance. Instead, she will dwell on how close she came to the podium.

"That is a positive, but my goals were much bigger," Nettey said.

The 24-year-old from Surrey, B.C., leaped 6.95 metres on her first attempt, a mark that left her in the bronze-medal position through four rounds. But while her competitors found something in reserve, Nettey could not. 

American Tianna Bartoletta launched herself 7.14m in the sixth and final round to win the competition, and Britain's Shara Proctor and Serbia's Ivana Spanovic both set national records of 7.07m and 7.01m, respectively, to claim the silver and bronze.

Nettey went out with a foul on her final attempt.

"It was a good start for me," Nettey said. "And then I let some technical stuff get away and I couldn't get it together."

Despite coming up short here, the Pan Am champion is the first Canadian woman to make a world championship long jump final, which bodes well for the Rio Olympics next year as she continues to work with revered coach Dan Pfaff.

Drouin soars into high jump final

Derek Drouin qualified as expected for the men's high jump final, soaring over 2.31m on his first attempt.

The Corunna, Ont., native, who won bronze medals at both the 2012 Olympics and 2013 world championships and more recently won Commonwealth and Pan Am gold, said he had to contend with a fast surface.

"I came in today anticipating that was going to be a problem, and I was very willing to make adjustments early," he said.

Gleadle advances in javelin

Liz Gleadle needed one throw to advance to the women's javelin final. With the qualifying standard at 63.50m, she sent her first throw out 64.02m to move on with the fourth-best throw of the round.

Germany's Christin Hussong led all qualifiers with a personal-best 65.92m.

"I came here with a plan," Gleadle said. "Throw far once and leave, go home, eat some food, go to sleep and be ready for the final."

"It's nice to know I didn't put it all out there today."

Canadian runners eliminated

Nikkita Holder ran a credible 12.87 seconds in her women's 100m hurdles semifinal heat to finish fifth.

Only the top two from each of the three heats plus the next two fastest times advance. Among those watching her race was her friend and training partner Phylicia George, who managed a sixth-place finish in an earlier heat (13.00 seconds).

"I was ready to go," Holder said, "But unfortunately I hit a hurdle, I don't know which one, and it totally took my momentum. By the time I got it back it was too late."

In the men's 1,500m, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot of Quebec City finished 10th in his semifinal heat in 3:39.62, knocking him out.

The race was won by Olympic and world champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, who used a 53-second last lap to earn his spot in Sunday's final.  

Seaman battles heat in race walk

The women's 20km race walk was held under dreadful heat and humidity outside the Bird's Nest Stadium.

Canada was represented by Rachel Seaman, who came in ranked 15th in the world. She crossed the line in 13th place in 1:31:39.

The Chinese duo of Hong Liu and Xiuzhi Li finished first and second, respectively, while Lyudmila Olyanovska of Ukraine claimed the gold. 

Seaman, who is coached by her husband, Tim, was pleased with her performance under tough conditions.

"I didn't feel that bad, probably because I paced myself properly, I hydrated properly and was constantly dumping water on myself," she said.