Sakari Famous held her nerve to break the Bermuda indoor women’s high jump record in her first outing for the University of Georgia at the weekend.

Famous finished second in her event at the UAB Blazer Invite at the CrossPlex facility in Birmingham, Alabama, with a leap of 1.77 metres to place second behind team-mate Aliyah Whisby, who had a winning jump of 1.80.

The freshman’s jump shattered the previous Bermuda record of 1.72 held by Latroya Darrell since February 2006.

“I was nervous at the start of competition, but it turned from nerves into determination to get over the heights to reach 1.77,” Famous told The Royal Gazette.

“I did have to fix my approach a couple of times throughout the competition and it worked out to be enough to clear the heights I did. I was almost 1.80; I just skimmed it. I know I’ll be able to jump 1.80 or higher throughout the season.”

Famous, who has an outdoor personal best of 1.80, finished eleventh in her group at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletic Championships in Tampere, Finland, last summer.