Tyrone Smith stepped up his preparations for the Olympics by winning the men’s long jump at the International Bottrop Gala Track and Field Event in Germany at the weekend.But middle distance runner Aaron Evans and sprinter Tre Houston both failed in their final chance to qualify for the London Games which begin later this month.Smith jumped 7.95 metres to finish ahead of Hussein Al-Sabee (7.83) and Nils Winters, of the Netherlands, who came third with a leap of 7.81 metresThe Houston-based athlete said his impressive performance had further boosted his confidence ahead of the Games, and suggested his injury problems were firmly behind him.“To be honest I always believe I can and should win,” said Smith. “Being on the circuit is a much different animal than a major championships. I have beat every Olympic and world champion of my generation at least once, so winning is definitely the goal every time.“Heading into this event I just wanted to continue my path to health as I’ve been injured quite a bit this year.“The meet I did the week before in Estonia showed me that I could now jump without any pain and that confidence gave me the ability to unleash the beast at the next competition.”Smith’s performances have gradually improved of late and he insists he is ready to produce a “huge jump” at the Olympics.“I was jumping really well and fouled three huge jumps an 8.20 and two over 8.10 but the 7.95 was actually not as quality as I would like,” said Smith, who jumped 7.80 metres at the recent Bermuda National Championships.“I’m finally healthy enough to produce huge jumps again. If we didn’t jump when we were hurting we would hardly ever get to compete“I’m used to dealing with odd aches and pains and its not an issue. The major injuries are subsiding and now I feel like I can do what I do best.“When I was home for the Championships every jump felt like some one was stabbing me in the knee with a knife and I was still able to produce 7.8 metre jumps, so I’m really excited about the Games.”But it wasn’t all good news for local athletes as both Evans and Houston fell short of their target.Evans’ 800 metres time of one minute and 48.39 seconds at the NACAC Championships in Canada was some way off the Olympic qualifying mark of 1:46.30, while Houston ran 10.48 seconds in the 100 metres and 20.96 seconds in the 200 metres at the same meet.Meanwhile, London-bound Arantxa King won silver in the women’s long jump with a top leap of 6.13 metres, finishing behind Saeko Oakayama from Japan.“We are heartbroken, Tre and Aaron really gave it their all in trying to qualify for London and took it right down to the wire,” said Bermuda track and Field Association president Donna Watson.“Unfortunately for the Olympics the athlete has to reach the standard with no exceptions, but the only good thing that comes out of this is that Aaron and Tre are both young and have time on their side for Rio Olympics 2016.“There are also several international meets inbetween then and now including the World Championships, Pan Am Games, CAC and Commonwealth Games.“This will also give them a chance to compete over in Europe and gain that experience for the next time around, so all is not lost as they do have youth on their side.”