Sakari Famous has raised the bar by jumping 1.80 metres for the first time during a Dash track meet last weekend when she equalled the Bermuda record and shattered the junior record.

Famous, who had a jump of 1.75 at last month’s Bermuda Permit Meet, produced a personal best which beat the junior record of 1.79 held by Latroya Darrell and Zindzi Swan, and tied Darrell’s Bermuda record.

“It was a great day for me,” Famous said. “It was more relaxed and there was no pressure, so it gave me the opportunity to do my best and just focus on me.

“My plan for that track meet, because I was feeling heavy, was to jump at least 1.75, but I was getting more height than I usually would, so I pushed myself to go higher.

“Also, it was really nice to have my mother’s and papa’s support since they were able to see me jump the new junior record.

“Although I was not able to jump 1.83 then to qualify for World Junior Championships, I now know what I have to do or have to change, to jump it at the upcoming track meets.”

Rohaan Simons, her coach, is backing Famous to go even higher and reach the 1.83 to qualify for the World Junior Championships in July.

“After she jumped the 1.75 against the foreign girls [at the Permit Meet] I told her to stop worrying about it, it was cold that night,” said Simons, who missed last Saturday’s performance because he was playing cricket with Southampton Rangers.

“That’s the height I told her she was going to jump after the 1.75. A lot of the focus was on the long jump and they [commentators and crowd] weren’t really focused on the high jump so it was really flat over there,” Simons said. “None of them jumped well, but the other girls knew what they were jumping against because they came to me and said ‘coach, you have an awesome athlete right here’.

“She’s over the moon [after her performance at the Dash meet] and wants more. Her main goal is to try to qualify for the World Juniors.

“I was playing in the Twenty20 semi-final for Rangers but everybody and their momma was calling me. I had so many messages on my phone it was ridiculous, everybody was so excited.

“I know she has it in her, but she puts a lot of pressure on herself sometimes. When she relaxes and just jumps and is technical, that’s when she really makes her mark.

“I said to her ‘would you rather jump fairly decent in the Permit Meet, a 1.79 and get a silver medal? Or would you rather jump a 1.82 or 1.83 in a smaller meet where there is no crowd and no pressure and you can jump the highest you’ve ever jumped’? And that’s what happened.”

n More than 35 teams have registered for the ninth Schools Relay Classic tomorrow at the National Stadium.

The event, which organised by the Bermuda Pacers Track Club, will see Elliott Primary, TN Tatem and Berkeley Institute aiming to defend their primary, middle and senior school titles.

The competition will start at 5.30pm with the 4x100 semi-finals, following at 6.30pm by the 4x400 finals and the 4x100 finals at 8pm. There will also be a corporate race.

“It’s a great spectator event, and after the Permit Meet people are looking for something along that line,” Cal Simons, a race official, said.