PARIS, France — Romaine Beckford created history on Wednesday when he became the first Jamaican man to qualify for the high jump final at the Olympic Games.

Beckford, who had cleared 2.24m on his first attempt, was third in his group and eighth overall, as only five men, including joint defending champion Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, got over 2.27m.

The 22-year-old Beckford is the first Jamaican man to compete in the high jump at the Olympics since Desmond Morris in 1980 and 1984. The first Jamaican to make the men’s high jump final was Ernle Haisley, who placed 15th with 1.96m in Melbourne in 1956 when 22 men contested the final.

Jamaica suffered a massive shock in the women’s 400m competition when Nickisha Pryce, the pre-race favourite and world leader this year, failed to advance to the final of the competition.

In fact, all three Jamaican participants in the semi-finals failed to move on to the final. The others are Junelle Bromfield and Stacey-Ann Williams.

Pryce, the Jamaican champion and national record holder, had to settle for fourth in her semi-final in 50.77 seconds. Williams, competing from lane three, finished seventh in her semi-final in 50.79, while Bromfield ended eighth in her semi-final in 51.93.

National 400m hurdles record holder Roshawn Clarke booked his spot in the final of the event after finishing strongly to place second in his semi-final heat in 48.34.

National champion Malik James-King had a rough day at the track after he clipped the final hurdle and lost momentum to finish in seventh place in 48.85. Jaheel Hyde also failed to advance after he ended seventh in his semi-final in 50.03.

Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce competes in the women’s 400m semi-finals during the Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Wednesday.