Shani's Got Next: 47-3 or Top-12 or Bust!

Shani Marks, the final Minnesota athlete to compete at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan faces a basic but challenging task in triple jump qualifying tomorrow:

Jump 47-3 -- a foot-plus PR for the former Gopher -- or finish in the top-12 of the 31 athlete field in the event. Those are the two paths to the triple jump final on August 31.

The top-12 route might be a little less daunting -- 46-3 1/2 made finals at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Then again, it took 47-7 3/4 -- better than the American Record! -- to make the finals grade at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

Judging by Marks' blog, she doesn't seem to be dwelling on those numbers. She seems to be lapping up Japan instead, as she awaits her event. The four-time USA Champion, whose 46-2 1/2 PR ranks her as the #6 triple jumper all-time for in the USA, does have a way of coming through in the clutch.

If you're an early riser, you can follow Marks' progress live, HERE, beginning at 5:30 a.m. CDT.

If you wake a bit later, say 7:00 a.m., you should be just in time to see results HERE.

If you're not logging on until 8:30 a.m. or so, expect a DtB story on the event posted above this one!