MANHATTAN, Kan.(Josh Brunner) – 2012 silver medalist Erik Kynard recorded a strong effort in the high jump finals but fell just short of making the medal stand as he claimed sixth place in the event at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
Entering the competition after qualifying with a jump 2.29m/7-06, Kynard cleared his first four bars, including on his last attempt at 2.33m/7-07.75, before missing all three attempts at 2.36m/7-08.75 to finish in sixth place overall with his previous mark of 2.33m/7-07.75.
Prior to his two misses on his final mark, the Toledo, Ohio, native was near perfect through three bars, only missing one time, which came at 2.25m/7-04.50.
On the track, Hungarian Balazs Baji and Haitian Jeffrey Julmis were in action in the 110 meter hurdles semifinals after both qualified for the round on Monday evening.
Baji went on to finish in 15th in the semifinals, running the exact same time of 13.52 that he ran on Monday to qualify Tuesday’s race. Julmis had a tough break in the semifinal round, falling over the first hurdle of the race. He was eventually disqualified from the competition.
K-State will have two athletes in competition on Thursday as former Wildcats Akela Jones and Alyx Treasure open competition in the women’s high jump. The event is set to begin at 8:00 a.m. CT.