MOSCOW, Russia – While competing in his first career international final during Friday’s evening session at Luzhniki Stadium, Tiger great Damar Forbes capped his 2013 season with a series-best jump of 26 feet, 3 ¾ inches for an eighth-place finish in the men’s long jump competition at this year’s IAAF World Championships in Athletics.
Forbes, who earned his spot in Friday’s final with a mark of 26-1 ½ in Wednesday’s qualifying round, posted a top mark of 26-3 ¾ on his very first jump of the competition en route to an eighth-place finish.
Forbes actually stood in medal contention in fifth place after the first round of jumps, but was unable to improve upon his opening mark of 26-3 ¾ over the final five rounds. He also hit the eight-meter mark in the fifth round with a jump of 26-3, while also posting a fair mark of 25-10 ¾ in the second round along with three fouls in his series in the final.
Russia’s Aleksandr Menkov outclassed the rest of the field while being crowned this year’s World Champion as his third-round jump of 28-1 was nearly one foot better than his closest competitor as Ignisious Gaisah of The Netherlands took home the silver medal with his top mark of 27-2 ½ in the competition. Rounding out the medalists was Mexico’s Luis Rivera, who jumped 27-1 ¾ for the bronze medal.
Forbes qualified for his first career international final in Moscow this week while representing Jamaica for the third time on the world’s stage after a 20th-place finish at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, and a 19th-place finish at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
He caps a sensational senior season with the Tigers as the SEC Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor champion in the event, while also setting a new lifetime personal record of 27-0 ¾ at the Jamaican Senior Championships held during the month of June. He ends his collegiate career as the No. 2-ranked long jump in the storied history of the LSU men’s track and field program.
Time Schedule for LSU Entries at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics
Note: Times are Central and subject to change based on round-by-round qualifying
Saturday, August 17
TV Coverage: LIVE on NBC (11-11:30 a.m. CT); TAPE-DELAY on NBC (1:30-3 p.m. CT); TAPE-DELAY on Universal Sports (8-9:30 p.m. CT)
10:30 a.m. – Women’s 4×400 Relay Final (Rebecca Alexander)
Sunday, August 18
TV Coverage: TAPE-DELAY on NBC (1:30-3 p.m. CT); TAPE-DELAY on Universal Sports (6-7:30 p.m. CT)
7:50 a.m. – Men’s 4×100 Relay Heats (Richard Thompson)
9:40 a.m. – Men’s 4×100 Relay Final (Richard Thompson)