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Australian Brandon Starc has bowed out of the Rio Olympics high jump, with nerves getting in the way of him following up his qualification effort in the final on Wednesday (AEST).
While Starc had entered the final as an outsider, and wasn’t expected to make any major impression on the leaders, he had jumped 2.29 metres in the qualification rounds and many thought he could have equalled that effort.
In saying that, the Aussies 2.29 jump was a season-best effort, and so it was always going to be a question of whether he could build any consistency in the toughest competition and environment of them all.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
The 2.29 was cleared in rather dramatic circumstances as well, with it being his last attempt after failing twice on the height. However, he got over and into the final after looking strong on the lower heights.
Starc’s personal best is 2.31 metres, which was set during the 2015 World Championships. His form has been off this season, though he certainly has the capabilities to contend for a top ten finish.
It was a shaky start to the final for Starc as he failed at the first hurdle, 2.20 metres. His technique looked off on the first jump but he would manage to clear it the second time around to stay with the rest of the contenders.
The next height of 2.25 metres proved to be a bridge too far for Starc, as he missed out on all three attempts and finished equal last with Jaroslav Baba of the Czech Republic, a distant 18 centimetres short of the winner, Canada’s Derek Drouin.
He never got into his rhythm during the final, and frankly didn’t look like contending with his height of yesterday, or getting anywhere near his personal best which is unfortunate.
At just 22 years of age in his first Olympic Games, Starc will learn from the experience and come back better for Tokyo in 2020.
Brandon is brothers with Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc who is currently struggling with the national team through a tour of Sri Lanka that is not exactly going to planned.
After the highs of yesterday’s dramatic qualification effort, it will be a tough blow for Starc to take. Considering he was an outsider to make the final in the first place, he has to consider his Rio campaign a success.