The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BIRMINGHAM, England — After falling short of getting into the final of the men’s long jump at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, LaQuan Nairn said he’s looking forward to nothing but the gold here at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

On day one of the track and field competition yesterday, Nairn got closer to claiming his prediction with the second best qualifying leap of 25-feet, 11-inches or 7.90 metres on his third and final attempt. He opened with 25-7 ¼ (7.80m) and followed that with 23-11 1/2 (7.30m).

His performances enabled him to trail India’s 23-year-old Murali Sreeshankar, who was the only jumper to clear the automatic qualifying distance of 26-3 (8m) for Thursday’s final at 2:45 pm EST.

Sreeshankar head into the final with the leading mark of 8.05m. With a lifetime and season’s best of 26-11 ¾ (8.22m) coming into the games, Nairn said he’s prepared to erase the disappointment from Eugene where he bowed out of the qualifying round with a best of 25-7 ¼ (7.80m) for 10th place in his group and 18th overall.

“I backed off. I know my coach is going to be mad. But we got into the final. That was what we wanted,” Nairn said. “The game is on. I have the legendary coach Peter Pratt out there with me and Kaiwan (Culmer) is also helping me. “But coach Peter Pratt knows what he’s doing and so I’m glad that he is here with me. He helped me to adjust with the wind and stuff, so I feel good.”

When asked what to expect from him in the final, Nairn simply stated: “Gold.”

Asked again, his answer was the same: “Gold.”

The 26-year-old Nairn further stated that the national record of 27-7 ¼ (8.41m) that was established by Craig Hepburn on June 17, 1993 at the Bahamas National Track and Field Championships is “gone.” Asked how serious he was about it, he quipped: “Guaranteed.”

Only time will tell on Thursday.