Every centimeter matters mightily in international track and field, as world-class athletes Jordan Clarke and Janay DeLoach learned again Friday in a star-studded Diamond League meet in Monaco.
Clarke, the former Bartlett High star and multi-time NCAA champion, finished sixth in a field of eight men's shot putters with his heave of 67 feet, 11.75 inches. He finished .50 of an inch, or about one centimeter, out of fourth place and 2.25 inches out of third place.
DeLoach, the former Eielson High star and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, took sixth in a field of eight women's long jumpers with a leap of 21-10. She was one inch, or about three centimeters, out of fourth place and three inches out of third place.
Both Clarke, 25, and DeLoach, 29, are preparing for the World Championships in Beijing, China, in August. Both athletes qualified for worlds with third-place finishes in their signature events at the U.S. championships last month in Eugene, Oregon.
Clarke in Eugene uncorked a personal-best of 70-6.25, or 21.49 meters, and earlier this summer he racked a pair of runner-up finishes at Diamond League meets in Rome and New York City.
The Diamond League is an international circuit that draws the best runners, throwers and jumpers in the world. Most meets on the Diamond League schedule -- 11 of 14 this season -- take place in Europe.
International track and field uses the metric system to measure throws and jumps. One centimeter is roughly .40 of an inch.
Clarke's shot put Friday of 20.72 meters left him just shy of fourth-place finisher Tomas Walsh of New Zealand and fifth-place American Ryan Whiting -- both delivered a best of 20.73 meters, or 68-.25, just a half-inch longer than Clarke. Walsh earned fourth by virtue of a longer second-best shot put than Whiting.
American Joe Kovacs won the shot put with a personal-best 74-.25 (22.56 meters), which doubled as the best throw in the world this year. American and former world champion Christian Cantwell finished second at 69-8.25 (21.24) and Reese Hoffa, an American and former world champion, took third at 69-2 (21.08).
DeLoach furnished a best jump Friday of 21 feet, 10 inches, or 6.65 meters. That was also the best mark from fifth-place finisher Shara Proctor of Great Britain, who edged DeLoach by virtue of a longer second-best leap.
DeLoach finished just one inch shy of fourth-place Christabel Nettey of Canada (21-11, or 6.68 meters) and a mere three inches shy of third-place finisher Lorraine Ugen of Great Britain (22-1, or 6.73 meters). Ivana Spanovic of Serbia won the long jump at 22-6.50 (6.87) and American Tianna Bartoletta was runner-up at 22-2.25 (6.76).
The return of DeLoach to the world stage has come after an injury forced her to make a dramatic change in her take-off: Launching off her right leg after a career of launching off her left leg. That switch was prompted by two surgeries on her left ankle in 2014.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr