Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith successfully made it through to the final of the women’s long jump on day one of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday.
Smith, who came into the championships as the world leader with 7.08m, was in a spot of bother after fouling her first two jumps before producing 6.78m in the third and final round of the preliminaries to advance with the fourth furthest jump of the morning.
“I know I got a little bit close for the first one and the second one, I over-pushed but I’m really glad I got it down on my third attempt,” Smith said after the prelims.
The Texas star says she’s confident heading into the final.
“I’m pretty confident. I know my abilities. As long as I get it right, I should be up there so I’m not too worried.”
The qualifiers for tomorrow’s final were led by American champion Tara Davis-Woodhall (6.87m), Burkina Faso’s Marthe Koala (6.84m) and Italy’s Larissa Iapichino (6.73m).
Jamaica’s other competitor in the event, national champion Tissanna Hickling, produced a best distance of 6.29m to finish 30th overall.
The final is scheduled for Sunday at 9:55am Jamaica Time.
You can watch live coverage of the World Championships by downloading the SportsMax app.