By BRENT STUBBS 

Chief Sports Editor 

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

PARIS, France — With all of the achievements she’s had so far in her young career, javelin thrower Rhema Otabor would have liked to add finalist in her first Olympic Games to her résumé.

But in her debut yesterday in the Stade de France, Otabor fell short, finishing 13th in Group A with a toss of 57.67 metres that placed her 27th overall when they combined the two groups of a total of 32 competitors.

“It was a nice experience. It was as competitive as I expected it to be,” said an emotional Otabor as she tried to hold back the tears.

“I just wished I could have stuck with them and got the bigger throws out earlier.”

In her series of throws, the University of Nebraska 2024 graduate scratched her first attempt, but came back with (54.76m) on her second and the (57.67m) on the third.

“I wished I had started off with a good throw. With the throw I did in the third, I was a little more there,” she said.

“I guess it would have been a good confidence booster for that.

“I tried not to worry about my first throw, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the distance off that I needed.”

Being in her second straight global competition on the heels of her appearance at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Otabor said it shows that she can fit right into the scheme of things with the competition.

“It was nice knowing that the crowd was there,” she said. “It was similar to the World Championships.”

As she looks ahead to next year’s World Championships in Tokyo, Japan and hopefully her second Olympics in Los Angeles, California in 2028, Otabor said her main goal is to continue to work on the smaller things that she didn’t do here.

And while she couldn’t exactly pinpoint what they were, Otabor said she’s processing what this experience meant to her. 

But she said after winning her second straight NCAA title this year and getting a silver at the Pan American Games last year, she’s proud of what she’s done so far.

The sky’s the limit for the 21-year-old Otabor, whose long-time coach Corrington Maycock was in the stands watching and assisting in her performances through the rounds.