LONDON, England – LSU’s former NCAA Champion long jumper Damar Forbes will compete in the event final at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics for the second time in his professional career after qualifying 10th overall in Friday’s opener at the London Stadium with a series-best of 26 feet, 0 ¼ inches.
The men’s long jump field was cut from 32 at the beginning of the competition to a final 12 competitors advancing to Saturday’s final beginning at 2:05 p.m. CT with Forbes jumping eighth in the order.
While sitting 15th in qualifying with just one jump remaining, Forbes soared to a series-best of 26-0 ¼ (-0.2) on his final attempt to make the cut as the 10th-place finisher on the night. Forbes advanced to the final at the IAAF World Championships for the second time in his career after last placing eighth overall in Moscow in 2013 just months after winning the NCAA Outdoor title in the event as a senior at LSU.
Survive & advance ✔️
— Damar Forbes (@damarforbes) August 4, 2017
Also a two-time Olympian in his career, Forbes is jumping for Jamaica at the World Championships for the fourth time after also appearing in the qualifying round Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 and Beijing, China, in 2015.
Forbes isn’t LSU’s only former NCAA Champion scheduled to compete Saturday at the London Stadium as 2011 World Championships Bronze Medalist Kelly-Ann Baptiste is set to line up in the preliminary rounds of the women’s 100-meter dash at 5:45 a.m. CT. Forbes will follow in the men’s long jump final at 2:05 p.m. CT.