JAMAICA’S heptathlete, Salcia Slack has some catching up to do after ending the first day of competition (yesterday) in 28th position, after four events, with 3,415 points. Slack is competing in her first World Championships.

Britain’s Jessica Ennis-Hill leads the seven-event competition with 4,005 points. Ennis-Hill holds an 80-point advantage over teammate Katarina Johnson-Thompson with 3,925 points. Nadine Visser of the Netherlands is third with 3,871 points.

Slack, who was clearly disappointed with her position heading into today’s competition, said it was a bittersweet day for her.

“I guess going through things like these can only help to build you because you going to rise, but you just have to work up to the top,” she noted.

“After the disappointment in the hurdles, I decided just to go through and do my best. I got out of the blocks pretty fast. I barely hit the first one, the second one, I went straight into it; and the third, I clipped it a little and couldn’t get back in stride. That cost me about 300 points because I was expecting to run, like, 13.4,” she noted.

Slack, who has a personal best of 13.68sec in the 100m hurdles recorded a time of 13.98sec and picked up 981 points. She then equalled her personal best in the high jump with 1.62m and collected 759 points and was 26th overall at the end of the morning session.

“The high jump has been given me ups and downs all year, so coming here and equalling my season’s best, that’s pretty awesome for me. That was the high point of my day,” she said.

She returned in the evening and heaved 13.53m for 15th position in the shot put earning 763 points having fouled on her two other throws.

Slack then struggled in the 200m, finishing eight in heat three in 24.73sec. She earned 912 points in the 200m.

However, the former Holmwood Technical and UTech athlete will enter the final three events today very optimistic and believes she will get some points in her stronger events, the long jump, javelin and 800m.

“My aim is to finish in the top eighth but if I get to 6,000 points, I will be happy,” said Slack.