LONDON, England — Discus medal hopeful Fedrick Dacres threw 64.82 metres on his third and final attempt and easily qualified for today’s final, while his compatriot Travis Smikle had to wait anxiously but sneaked in as the last qualifier with 63.23m.

Damar Forbes leapt 7.93 metres on his final effort and and also had to wait nervously, as his effort placed him eighth in Group B. But he was able to reach the long jump final as the 10th best of the 12 jumpers.

There was no such luck for his teammate and national champion Ramone Bailey, as he could only muster 7.76m and was 10th in Group A, finishing 21st overall.

Dacres, who is expected to seriously challenge for a medal, had throws of 64.46 and 64.28. Then with his final throw he surpassed the qualifying mark of 64.50m with 64.82m.

He was second in Group B behind Andrius Gudzius of Lithuania, who threw 67.01 with his first attempt to qualify easily. He bypassed his remaining two throws.

Dacres was fairly happy with his effort as he enters the final with the fifth-best throw, his eyes firmly set on a medal.

“Yes, I was struggling; this was not my best start. It was bad, but I am happy going to the next round,” he noted.

Dacres was roared on by a band of Jamaicans and he appreciated their support.

“The reception here is great, I love the atmosphere here. I am looking forward to an exciting battle with the world leaders and especially with Daniel Stahl.”

Stahl of Sweden was in menacing form as he produced the longest throw of 67.64 and won Group A. German Robert Harting was second in Group A with 65.32m, while Jamaica’s Travis Smikle was seventh with 63.23m in his first and only legal throw. He grabbed the 12th and last spot through to the final.

The discus final is set for 1:25 pm Jamaican time.

Forbes, who still has his eyes on a medal, was disappointed with his jumps overall. He jumped 7.82, 7.86 and 7.93.

“I felt I could have gone farther today, but the objective was survive and advance, and that’s what I did today. I had some technical issues; I could have went over eight metres a couple of times but I dropped my arm back. But that’s what happens in competition so you have to bounce back and respond,” said Forbes.

“But because so many people jumping it’s hard to keep warm, and a lot of persons kept declining because they got cold,” he noted.

Radek Juska of the Czech Republic took his event with 8.24m ahead of Cuba’s Maykel Masso with 8.15m. South Africa’s Olympic silver medallist Luvo Manyonga was third with 8.12m.

Jamaica’s Bailey, competing in Group B, had efforts of 7.76m, 7.51m and 7.49 finishing 10th in a group from which only three made the final.

Rushawl Masaai of South Africa did 8.14m and Aleksandr Menkov of the Authorised Neutral Athlete was second with 8.07. China’s Jianan Wang was third with 7.92m.

Bailey, the national champion, said he learnt a lot about competing under pressure.

“Learning how to handle the pressure of waiting so long between each round and having to stop for the track events, I learnt that next time you can’t depend on adrenaline and going so quick. So I have to learn how to keep warm and produce a good jump under these conditions,” said Bailey.

— Howard Walker

The long jump final is set for 2:05 pm Jamaican time and Forbes is still harbouring thoughts of a medal.

“Definitely. That’s what I came here for. I didn’t come here for nothing less”.