Alyx Treasure dug her spikes into the Diamond League of track and field Friday in London, England.
In the first big international meet of her athletics career the 24-year-old high jumper from Prince George advanced to the sixth round and was eliminated after three attempts at 1.95 metres, two centimetres higher than her personal best.
Treasure cleared 1.92m on her third attempt and ended up tied for seventh with Morgan Lake of Great Britain.
"I was happy with my performance, I competed well and kept a level head," said Treasure.
"That's what I wanted to do going into it and it was a good experience leading into the Games. Being on such a large stage is something that I haven't had access to in America, so it was the perfect opportunity to get my toes into the water before the big event (the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
"I have some things I need to iron out before next month but in all I'm pleased and optimistic about the Games."
Four jumpers went beyond 1.95m, including 2016 European champion Ruth Beitia of Spain, Mirela Demireva of Bulgaria, Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Great Britain and Kamila Licwinko of Poland. The 37-year-old Beitia was the only jumper to clear 1.98m (six-foot-six) and with that leap won the competition. Demireva and Johnson-Thompson won silver and bronze respectively.
The meet in London was the final event for Treasure before she joins the Canadian Olympic team in Rio. Her trip to London was paid for by the Diamond League, which offers travel incentives to try to attract more world-class athletes. She arrived in England on Tuesday.
"I think that's pretty damn good, her first professional event – she's only been over 1.90m once before," said Tom Masich, Treasure's former coach at the Prince George Track and Field Club.
"I'm pretty excited over that. I'm very happy. She's only 24, only a baby. I'm pretty proud of our little girl."
Treasure qualified for her first Olympics earlier this month at the national team trials in Edmonton, where she jumped 1.88m while winning her third consecutive Canadian championship. Her personal-best 1.93m (six-foot-3.98 inches), was set May 7 at the Ward Haylett Invitational meet at her home track in Manhattan, Kan., where she just graduated with a business degree from Kansas State.
"It's pretty nice to look at the Diamond League start list and see your girl's name there," said Masich, who started training Treasure as a high jumper in 2000, when she was eight years old.
"She's really taking this in a very mature way and she's developing into where she could suddenly blossom in the international field and that's very rare."
The London meet is one of 14 Diamond League meets in 2016. Cash prizes are available for the top eight finishers in each of the 32 track and field disciplines, with a $10,000 payoff for each event winner.
Beitia, the defending Diamond League series champion, equaled her season-best, 1.98m, which she also cleared while winning her third European championships, July 7 in Amsterdam. Her personal best, 2.02m (six-foot-7.3 inches), is a record for Spain, set in August 2007.
"She's amazing, to hang around that two-metre bar for several years now," said Masich. "It just shows you the life expectancy of these athletes can be a lot longer than they think it is."
The Rio Olympics are scheduled for Aug. 5-21. The women's high jump is one of the last events of the Games. The qualifying round is set for Thursday, Aug. 18 starting at 10 a.m. Brazil time. Rio is four hours ahead of the Pacific time zone.
The finals are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 20.
