CHRIS Tomlinson admitted he had a 'very bad day' after failing to qualify for the long jump final.

The Middlesbrough athlete had arrived in Japan as one of Britain's best hopes for a medal, after breaking his five-year old national record just eight weeks ago.

UK Athletics have set a cautious and conservative target of 13 finalists here and the 25-year old was certainly high on their list.

But Tomlinson could only manage a best effort of 7.89m in qualifying - his worst performance since competing in a blustery Senegal five months ago.

It left him ranked 15th overall, with only the top 12 progressing to contest for medals.

"I've been beating these guys week in, week out throughout the season," he said.

"It's very disappointing and incredibly frustrating to see them go through when I have not.

"I've had such a good season but perhaps I've forgotten how difficult it is to jump eight metres.

"It's a lesson because sometimes this happens in sport. No matter what you've achieved before, if you don't get it right when it matters, you go out.

"It's the first time I've really bombed out of qualifying. I've got to establish what happened."

Tomlinson will now set his sights on the Beijing Olympics, although he will have a chance to make amends at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart next month.

"I've still had a good year but this was a very bad day," he said. "I need to get myself back into rhythm again.

"I've got a couple more competitions coming up and then I can start working hard towards next year."

There was also disappointment for Britain javelin hope Goldie Sayers.

She's ranked fourth in the world but she didn't qualify either - her best effort was seven metres down on her personal best.

"It's just not good enough," she fumed. "I've been throwing that distance off five strides all season, I can't explain it. I feel I belong in the final with the way I've performed all year."