National javelin record holder Leslain Baird threw close to his best yesterday at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Australia but could not clinch a finals berth in the field event.
Baird finished seventh in Group B of the qualifying round with a throw of 74.27m just off his best of 74.76m recorded in Trinidad two months ago.
The 30 year-old needed a qualifying performance of 78.00m or at least to finish among the 12 best performers to advance to the Final. He finished 14th overall among the 24 throwers from the two groups of 12.