Ricketts confident of Cuban coup

SHANIEKA RICKETTS goes into her sixth successive world triple jump final full of confidence after qualifying alongside Jamaican teammate Ackelia Smith for Thursday’s medal decider.

Ricketts, twice silver medallist at World Athletics Championships and also second in last year’s Paris Olympics, failed to stay with the four automatic qualifiers, who posted over the required 14.35 metres but, having begun with a foul, calmly landed 14.30 with her second leap.

That put Commonwealth Champion Ricketts firmly in fifth place among the 12 qualifiers and, with a beaming smile, the 33-year old from St Andrew reflected:

“The runway was very fast, so I had to make some adjustments (after overstepping the board first time out), but I didn’t panic.

“I’ve done this enough times to now know that you still have two more jumps.”

“It’s all about holding your composure and going again.”

Despite the presence of Cuba’s twice Diamond League Final winner and current World Indoor Champion Leyanis Perez Hernandez dominating the three-part discipline through this year, Ricketts, who is yet to rediscover the form which took her out to a personal best 15.03 at Eugene in 2023, is eager for the final.

“The aim of every athlete is always to compete for the top prize, and I’m no different and I’m very optimistic that I can do it on the day.”

Smith made up the disappointment of failing to make last weekend’s long jump final by comfortably securing her place in the triple jump medal decider with a superbly consistent set of three jumps.

Just 12cm separated the trio of efforts, with a best of 14.21 leaving her eighth of the 12 qualifiers and safely into the world final.

“Today was wonderful, as I’m so happy I got to the final after having to regroup following the long jump disappointment,” said Smith.

“I’m happy that I made it to the final and now I have to bring my A game on Thursday and I have nothing to lose - just do my absolute best.

Smith, already three times national champion in the long jump at just 23, continued:

“I would have loved my jumps to be bigger, but getting consistently over 14 metres this year is something that I am definitely patting myself on the shoulder for.

“My first jump (her longest at 14.21) came after I’d tried to get the crowd going and I was really up for it.”

Hernandez’s leading leap, with the second jump of the competition, was 14.66.