Long jumper Jacob Fincham-Dukes hailed an ‘other worldly’ experience as he prepares to return to the day job following an impressive Olympic debut.
Fincham-Dukes’ second jump of 8.14m was enough for a fifth-placed finish as he built on a promising opening leap of 7.95m.
Three of his remaining four jumps were fouls and he was unable to close the gap on a podium topped once again by Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou, who defended his Tokyo crown.
“I really hope I've done myself justice because I work full-time,” he said. “I'm back at work on Friday.
“I'm carrying a lot of extra stress that these guys don't have to deal with.
“I felt I did well, I was creeping up on my PB. I definitely thought I had something in the fourth and fifth round to contend for a medal.
“I was trying to leave it all out there, as you do with the jumps. I know a big one is coming.
“Once you are starting to trickle around your PB you know something is coming, but today it didn’t come. We now just look ahead to next year.”
Fincham-Dukes, who was born in Harrogate, booked his spot in Paris by retaining his national title in Manchester earlier in the summer.
He has earned big-stage experience at European Championships in recent years, finishing fifth in 2022 – when his original silver was downgraded when a video appeal located a foul on the jump that got him there – and fourth in Rome in June.
He looked composed in the heats at the Stade de France, securing his spot in the final with a 7.96m leap, and thrived in the final amid a carnival atmosphere that was created by the capacity crowd.
“It is something special out there,” he said.
“We have 70,000 people all going electric. It is other worldly.
“There was a sea of British flags. You almost feel personalised with each of them. I had them right there behind me and it felt amazing.
“I've carried myself tremendously well this year, fourth at Europeans and fifth at the Olympics.
“I wasn't supposed to finish fifth on rankings there so I think I've done myself proud.”
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