The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Although she produced a junior national record, Rhema Otabor said she was a little disappointed in falling short of getting on the medal podium in the women’s javelin at the World Athletics’ Under-20 Championships.

On the second of the five-day competition yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya, Otabor threw the spear 180-feet, 7-inches or 55.04 metres on her second attempt, which was just short of the bronze medal performance of 182-0 (55.48m) by Yiselena Ballar Rosa, of Cuba, on her fifth try.

Adriana Vilagos, of Serbia, won the gold with a world junior leading mark of 201-7 (61.46m) on her first attempt.

The silver went to Elina Tzengko of Greece with 195-6 (59.60m) on her sixth and final toss.

“I was a bit disappointed about not being able to make the podium considering how close I was to it,” said Otabor, who had a series of throws that included 156-2 (47.61m) on her first heave, 162-1 (49.42m) on her third, 150-4 (45.84m) on her fourth, 163-7 (49.86) on her fifth and 159-8 (48.67) on her sixth and final mark.

“Overall I’m still happy to place in the top five. I did feel that I could’ve done better, but I’ll just have to work harder for next time.”

The 18-year-old, the only member of Team Bahamas’ nine-member team in competition yesterday, said with her season now complete, she will return to Florida International University where she will be focusing on trying to crack the 60-metre barrier to be more competitive next year.

Corrington Maycock, one of the members of Team Bahamas’ coaching staff at the championships, said Otabor had to endure a 40-minute rain delay and it got much colder, which put a dent into her plans going into the straight final event.

“We had to go back to scratch, but overall she did very well,” Maycock said.

“Right now we’re in preparation mode, trying to get her ready for the 2024 Olympic Games. She ended her junior campaign on a high note with a personal best, so I’m very happy for her.

“I’m just honoured that I was able to be here to help her. Now it’s on to her senior campaign and hopefully she will only get better as a result of what she did here.

“If the weather wasn’t so bad, I believe that she would have had an even bigger performance here,” he added.

Today on day three of the championships, national record holder Keyshawn Strachan will be competing in the final of the men’s javelin. He will be the fifth of 12 competitors in the field with a personal and season’s best of 236-7 (72.13m).

Also today on the field, Alexis Tilford-Rutherford will contest the qualifying rounds of the women’s long jump. With a lifetime best of 20-2 ½ (6.16m) Tilford-Rutherford will be the ninth of 10 competitors on the runway in Group B.

The automatic qualifying standard is 20-10 (6.35m) or the top 12 performers will move on to the final on Sunday, the final day of the championships.

On the track, Antoine Andrews will compete in the heats of the men’s 110m hurdles. He will run out of lane three in the third of four heats with a lifetime and season’s best of 14.01.

The first three finishers in each heat and the next four fastest losers will advance to the semi-finals today as well. The final is on Saturday.

Camille Rutherford and Lacarthea Cooper, coming off their semi-final and first round appearances in the 100m, will be back for the heats of the women’s 200m. In the fourth of five heats, Rutherford will run out of lane two with a PB of 23.42 and Cooper, with her time of 24.09, will be in lane nine in heat five.

The top four finishes in each heat and the next four fastest losers will advance to the semi-finals later in the day. The final will be ran on Saturday.

And in the men’s 200m heats, Wendell Miller and Carlos Brown, who both made it to the semifinals of the 100m, will be back in the heats of the men’s 200m. Miller, with his lifetime best of 20.61, will run out of lane six in the second of five heats and Brown, with his personal best of 21.16, will run out of lane seven in heat four.

Lamont Moss has also qualified for the 200m, but because Miller and Brown’s times were faster than his 21.27, they were awarded the two spots for Team Bahamas.

Only two competitors per country are allowed to compete in the championships, unlike the Olympic Games or World Championships where up to three are eligible.

The first four finishers in each heat of the men’s 200m and the next four fastest losers will move onto the semi-finals today as well with the final on Saturday.

Team Bahamas is being co-managed by Laketah Charlton and Sharon Gardiner with Bernard Rolle as the head coach, assisted by Darron Lightbourne and Corrington Maycock.

The medical personnel are Dr Alvery Hanna, physiotherapist Michael Armbrister and COVID-19 liaison officer Laura Charlton.

North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) president Mike Sands is also attending the meet. He participated in the medal presentation for the women’s 3,000m that saw Kenya take the gold and silver with Ethiopia claiming the bronze.