Challenger - failed to qualify (Getty Images).

Goldie Sayers offered some welcome encouragement in a morning of contrasting fortunes for the Great Britain team at the World Championships in Helsinki.

Sayers qualified for the final of the javelin with her first throw but Chris Tomlinson and Ben Challenger failed to progress in the long jump and the high jump respectively.

Sayers, competing in only her second major championships, managed 60.67 metres in the first round to progress into Sunday's final despite the wind and intermittent rain at the Olympic Stadium.

The 23-year-old said: "I am just so relieved although I did expect to qualify.

"It was quite nice to walk off with the world record holder (Osleidys Menendez). No-one looked particularly great and if it rains anything can happen.

"I know I am in shape and I know I can throw a personal best.

"Realistically I am not a medal prospect. My aim before was to make the top eight."

Sayers, who set a personal best of 61.45m at the Loughborough International in June, is coached by three-time Olympic medallist Steve Backley and John Trower and the former insisted the Belgrave Harrier must immediately switch her focus from qualification and concentrate on preparing for the final.

Backley said: "It's a fantastic feeling walking away like that but now she needs to draw a line under it.

"I don't remember a thing about my qualifying competitions."

Backley, one of a number of recent high-profile retirements from the British team, insisted the athletes should have to learn to throw in the adverse conditions.

"Sort it, deal with it and plan for it and that is what she did," he said. "With the conditions there have been some strange results and you have to be well prepared."

Tomlinson failed to qualify for the final of the long jump in what was his first appearance of the season after a toe injury and a hernia had scuppered his campaign.

Although he produced jumps of 7.55m, 7.83m and 7.64m, none threatened the automatic qualification mark of 8.10m and the British record holder finished 14th with only 12 making it through.

The 23-year-old, who finished fifth last year in Athens, was philosophical afterwards, saying: "I shouldn't have been out here.

"I thought I could come here and make the final and challenge for a medal but it was not to be.

"Maybe I overestimated what I could do - I've not jumped for six months and the timing just wasn't there.

"Even if I had gone through, I would want to be in the top five and if I'm not I don't really want to be here.

"In hindsight I shouldn't have been here and unfortunately it didn't come off."

Challenger, meanwhile, was distraught after just failing to make the high jump final on countback.

The 27-year-old finished 14th to miss qualification by one spot after failing at 2.27m.

He had looked on good form when he cleared his first attempt at 2.24m and he was close to clearing 2.27m with each of his three attempts and, apart from the Commonwealth Games, has now failed to reach the final of any major championships since his first world championship appearance in 1999.

"I'm absolutely gutted," he said. "I did what I could and I did my best that was just not good enough."

The Belgrave Harrier had shown some improvement this season clearing 2.27m on two occasions as he returned to form after failing to qualify for last year's Olympics.

"It's been great to be jumping high again. On another day that would have been enough.

"It has been a difficult few years and it was nice to be in the mix.

"This is the best of the best."