Home|Sports|Otabor finishes 33rd overall in women’s javelinSports
Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 24, 2023 17 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
BUDAPEST, Hungary – At just 20, Rhema Otabor is the youngest member of Team Bahamas at the 19th World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Stadium in Budapest, Hungary.
Despite not being at her best on Wednesday, rest assured that barring injury, she is likely to return to the world stage on the senior side in the not too distant future.
Otabor finished 33rd overall in the women’s javelin with a throw of 53.62 meters (m) – 175’ 11”, failing to advance to the final of that event in what was her first global appearance as a senior athlete.
She has a season’s and personal best throw of 59.75m (196’), which was done at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ (BAAA) Junior and Senior National Championships in June, and also won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor title this year.
Otabor had a strong season and the future looks bright for this budding star in the women’s javelin. Still, she said she was disappointed about her performance on Wednesday.
“I felt prepared, and I was excited, but things didn’t turn out the way that I wanted it to,” she said. “I guess I have to take it as a learning experience and just build on it. It was amazing going up against the world’s best athletes at this time. I feel as if it could only motivate me to get back here and do it again. I feel as if I still have a lot to learn, but all-in-all, it was a great experience.”
In the first round, Otabor had a toss of 48.34m (158’ 7”). She improved to 53.62m in the second round and fouled her final attempt. The final qualifying throw for the final was 59.66m (195’ 9”), just below Otabor’s personal best.
Otabor went after a big throw on her final attempt, trying to be aggressive, but it wasn’t to be as she fouled the attempt.
“I didn’t have anything to lose at that point and I was just trying to be a bit more aggressive. I was trying to get in a qualifying mark, but like I said, things didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I’ll have to take it as a learning experience and build off it.”
At the NCAAs at the Mike A. Myers Stadium, in Austin, Texas, in June, Otabor had a winning throw of 59.49m (195’ 2”) for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. She later came back and improved her personal best to 59.75m at the national championships. It was her third meet in which she threw in excess of 59m (193’ 7”) this year.
Despite what happened in Budapest, she had a fantastic season and continues to show promise for the future.
Otabor set a personal best in the women’s javelin three times, and is the second-best women’s javelin thrower in Bahamian history, trailing just the legendary Laverne Eve – a former Commonwealth Games champion, a multiple Central American and Caribbean (CAC) champion and a five-time Olympian.
Otabor is just about four meters behind Eve’s national record of 63.73m (209’ 1”), and is aiming to become just the second Bahamian behind Eve to throw in excess of 60m (196’ 10”) and 200 feet in the women’s javelin.
Otabor is coached locally by Blue Chips Athletics Head Coach Corrington Maycock who expects great things down the line from the budding star. Maycock is a part of The Bahamas’ coaching staff at the Budapest World Championships.
“Rhema is a tremendous athlete and definitely one to look out for in the future,” said Maycock in an earlier interview. “She’s on a path that will lead to greatness. There is no doubt about that. She’s in good standings right now and she could only go up from here. Right now, it’s just a matter of fine tuning. I believe The Bahamas will be quite pleased with what she will be able to do in the near future.”
Otabor said she is encouraged by the support she has received and will continue to work on getting better and excelling on the world stage.