ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS Associated Press Former Arkansas sprinter Wallace Spearmon competes in a heat of the 200 meters Monday in the National Stadium at 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Former Razorback and Fayetteville native Wallace Spearmon successfully competed in the opening rounds of the 200 meters on Monday at 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. NBC and its affiliates will broadcast portions of today's track and field events throughout the day Monday.

In the prelims, he won his heat by clocking a time of 20. 46. In the quarterfinals, running in heat four, lane two, Spearmon finished second and automatically advanced to Tuesday's semifinals. He clocked a quarterfinal time of 20. 39.

" I w e n t o u t t h e re trying to get top two, " Spearmon said, after his second race of the day. " I pushed it kind of close. I accomplished my job and I get to run tomorrow. Top two is favored a n d t h a t i s t h e m a i n focus because you get inside lanes [for the next rounds ]. " In the women's pole vault final, April Steiner Bennett finished eighth in the 12-woman field. Competing in her first O l y m p i c G a m e s, s h e cleared 14-11. For complete results of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, visit www.iaaf.org.