Ball – World Cups: Picardo in the first triple jump final, Thiago Pereira also qualified (athletics)

Pedro Piccardo, Olympic triple jump champion, qualified in the first jump for the race final at the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene, USA.

The athlete reached 17.16 meters at the first attempt. The qualifying mark for the final was very difficult, 17.05 meters, and only five of the 12 athletes who reached the final surpassed it. Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso came second with a score of 17.15. The other Portuguese qualifier, Thiago Pereira, qualified with a distance of 16.68 metres, number 11 at this stage, bringing the penultimate replay of the final scheduled for Saturday, from 18:00 local time (2:00 noon on Sunday in Lisbon). Will Clay, the world runner-up, qualified with the 10th qualifying jump – 16.70.

Whoever did not qualify was the champion Christian Taylor, who jumped 16.48 and thus took the eighteenth place. Taylor previously missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last year due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Picardo eventually said qualifying was good, and he once again had the impressive mark of Jonathan Edwards, jumping 18.29 meters in August 1995, still a world record.

“It was fine, it went well, I did what I had to do, which was to beat the qualifying mark and left straight away in the first test. When I’m in physical health, I am very confident. 17.05 was not a difficult mark for me. I have competition, You can’t underestimate opponents.Sometimes, they are very nervous in qualifying with a lot of nerves. [A marca de Edwards] I will try, I will try. I am in good physical shape. If health is good I will fight to the last jump,” he commented.

Thiago Pereira admitted these nerves. “Qualifications are very tough. I wanted to go in with everything in the first jump, it was probably the best jump I’ve ever made, but it was almost empty. Then I didn’t want to risk too much, because there were only two left, and it was 16.69 that gave me the qualification.” He commented. “The most important thing is that I’m in the final.”

The other Portuguese of the day, Leandro Ramos, was knocked out of the javelin final. The athlete finished the race 22nd in the Portuguese debut in this men’s competition at the World Championships.

The bowler finished the heats with 77.34 metres, down from 83.50 meters in the direct heats, and a few months earlier he had set the national record with 84.78 metres. The qualifying round ended at a distance of 80.03 metres.