BUDAPEST, Hungary — Shanieka Ricketts just failed to win a third-straight medal in the women’s triple jump of the World Athletics Championships at National Athletics Center in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday night — in what she described as one of the “hardest competitions” of which she has ever been a part.

Ricketts, who improved on her season’s best three times in the final, finished fourth with 14.93m (-0.1m/s) after being third for a long time — a massive clutch 15.08m (0.0m/s) jump from defending champion Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela in the final round moving her from eighth place to the gold medal.

The Commonwealth champion told the Jamaica Observer she “was only disappointed in not getting to the podium”.

“This is the best series I’ve had in my entire career, and just to be able to perform at a high level year after year at the World Championships and major championships is just a blessing,” she said.

Thirteen centimetres separated second from fifth place, with Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk — who led from the first round — winning the silver medal with a season’s best 15.00m (0.1m/s), and Cuba’s Leyanis Perez-Hernandez placing third with 14.96m (0.1m/s).

Dominica’s Thea Lafond broke her country’s national record for the second time in the championships with 14.90m (-0.2m/s).

The veteran Jamaican Kimberly Williams, who was competing in her 10th global championship finals, finished seventh with a season’s best 14.38m.

Ricketts admitted that despite this being her best series “it was very hard”.

“It was one of the hardest competitions I’ve ever had and I would compare it with Tokyo [Olympics 2021]… Everybody was ready, everybody was going after it, and I was just hoping to get one to secure the podium spot but it didn’t happen tonight and I’m disappointed with that, but grateful nonetheless,” she said.