By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

TOKYO, Japan — Terrence Jones was just ecstatic that he was able to match up against the best of the world and made it to the semifinals of the men’s 100 metres at the 20th World Championships.

The 22-year-old Grand Bahamian native clocked 10.10 seconds for sixth place in the second of three heats of the semifinals on Sunday at the Japan National Stadium that was won by American Kenny Bednarek in the round’s leading time of 9.86.

Jones, however, ended up 16th overall and was denied a spot in the final. But he noted that it’s all a part of the process he has to ensure now that he’s competing on the international scene as a professional athlete.

“It wasn’t my best. I got a lot more to offer,” Jones said. “But I thank God for coming this far. It is what it is.”

Under the circumstances, Jones said he’s going to continue to put his faith and trust in God to take him to where he needs to be in the future. “It came down to not trusting my own steps, but trusting the path that Jesus laid out for me,” he insisted. “Of course, it’s tough. I’m human, but I’m trying to deal with the adversities. “I just have to believe that there is something higher for me and there is more to come. So I’m just trusting in that.”

Looking back, Jones said he was just thrilled to be on the stage with some of the best athletes in the world. “I’m still a rookie in the sport at the pro level, so I’m trying to build on what I can and get my confidence up and just go from there.”

In his race, running out of lane eight, Jones managed to get out with the field, but while the contenders in the middle started to pull away, he was able to surge back in the winding metres, but it was a bit too late. “That was my first time advancing to the semifinals so all praise to God for that,” he stated. “It’s always something to take away from it. It’s not always a loss, but what can I learn from it, or what God is teaching me from this championship.”

The quiet and resolute Jones said he will take the time to “pray a little bit” as he reflects on his trip to Tokyo and to see “what I can learn from it and what I can do better for the next time and go on from there.”

After his qualifying round in the heats on day one on Saturday, said he was delighted to be able to advance through the round in his first championship.

“So it’s just a blessing from God to be able to do that,” he stated. “It’s been a rough year as a pro, so to come out here at the biggest meet of the year and do that is a good start for the competition.”

At the start of his heat, Jone said he felt everybody just slipping away from him, but he just did what his coach told him to do.

“I failed the first part, but I knew in the second part, I could come back and gain some ground, so I just trusted myself and just trusted all that my coach was telling me and I was able to pull through.” 

And although he had to face American Noah Lyons in the heat, Jones said it wasn’t anything new.

“It’s not my first time running against him, so I kind of got used to the pros and cons of it,” he lamented. “It’s a blessing and a curse because he’s a good dude to run against and that also brings some nerves, no matter who you are, but it’s a blessing because competition like that always pushes you to be the best, so I’m grateful for it.”

The Texas Tech graduate has not ran close to his lifetime best of 9.91 from when he tied the Bahamian national record with Derrick tkins, who accomplished the feat at the 2007 championships in Osaka, Japan with the silver medal behind American gold medalist Tyson Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell.

He’s had to endure some injuries and make the adjustment from college to the pros, but the Grand Bahamian sprinter said he anticipates that the door will be opened to a lot faster times in the future. 

And while he’s known more as a 200 metre specialist, the tall and slender Jones said he was just excited that he was able to feed off that endurance with his tall slender height as he runs the shorter distance.