Lawrence Okoye will return to the Olympic Stadium tomorrow to compete in the final of the men’s discus.

The Croydon Harrier went in the qualifying round this morning and saved his best until last with a mammoth effort of 65.28m.

The 20-year-old was one of only six competitors to reach the automatic qualification mark but will be joined in tomorrow’s final by a further six athletes in the field of 12.

Okoye is one of the youngest members of the Team GB squad but showed great maturity after advancing, stressing that he still has a lot of hard work ahead of him if he is to book a place on the podium.

“It took a lot to get through but I am glad I got the job done. Tomorrow I have got a bigger job to do with the guys coming through. It is going to be tough to get amongst them, but I am ready to go,” he explained.

“The two years I have spent doing this would have gone down the pan if I didn’t get through.

“I have got another job to do tomorrow so I have just got to make sure I go out there and do it.”

He had it all to do with his final throw after fouling on his first attempt and then coming up short with an effort of 63m.

But his third throw proved more than sufficient, placing him fourth overall across the two qualifying groups to see him progress.

It was evident just how much the achievement meant to Okoye as he jumped with joy at advancing.

If medals were awarded purely for celebration, he would already be on top of the podium, but as he quickly pointed out: “Yes, but you don’t get any medals for that.

“I have just got to make sure I go home, concentrate, rest, recover and make sure I come back strong tomorrow.”

He added: “It is tough. You have got three throws to get it right.

“The first one was so bad but I came back properly. And that is what it is all about. I showed some character which is good.”