By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN 2018 just before the CARIFTA Games here in Nassau, Rhema Otabor connected with coach Corrington Maycock in his Blue Chip Athletics Club as she followed her brother Michaelangelo Bullard.

While Bullard eventually faded off the scene although he just graduated this year from Texas State, Otabor continued to excel, surpassing Lavern Eve as the new Bahamian women’s javelin national record holder and two-time NCAA Championship champion.

More importantly, Otabor achieved all of those feats over the weekend at the championships in Eugene, Oregon where she posted the fifth best mark in the world with her victory for Nebraska with 210-feet, 7-inches or 64.19 metres to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, next month.

Eve, who previously held the national record of 209-1 (63.73m) from April 20, 2000, said she was watching the highlights on Saturday when she saw Otabor’s accomplishment. 

She said she texted her that night congratulating her and spoke to her the next day.

“I’ve been watching her compete for a while now. She’s been coming close and thought it’s only a matter of time now,” Eve said. “The record has been there long enough and now only shows the progression in the event.   

“That’s what records are there for. It’s a marker. We’ve  had  a big gap for such a long time now which shows a stagnant in the event. Hopefully this will encourage more throwers in the event to make it and to make it more competitive.”

As a NCAA champion for Louisiana State University and a five-time Olympian, who also won Commonwealth Games silver and bronze and Pan American Games silver and a pair of bronze medals, Eve said she’s happy for Otabor’s feat.

“She’s very humble and looking forward to more big throws from her,” said Eve, who was a 13-time national champion. “I told her I’m looking forward to watching her compete at the Olympics and to just stay focused on what she needs to do.”

Maycock, who has watched as Otabor made her global debut last year at the World Championships and then going on to secure the silver at the Pan American Games, said the 21-year-old should have been further than she is

“She had a road block at FIU where I felt the coach didn’t do what he was supposed to do to bring her along to where she should have been,” Maycock said.

“Before she went to college, I told her she would break the NCAA record and win NCAAs. I felt deep in my heart that she should have won it three straight years, not counting her freshman year, but from her sophomore to her senior year.”

As she brought the curtain down on her four-year collegiate career, Otabor has lived up to the expectations of Maycock, a coach she gave a lot of credit to her performances over the years.

“%Tht throw tht I had, I thought I could have done that earlier in the season, but it didn’t happen until this weekend,” he said. “It came at the right time, at the right meet and in the right environment. So I felt like I was walking in my purpose and plan from God.

“I know there’s still a lot more left in the tank. But I want to thank all of the people who sent me their contegultions on social media. Hopefully when I come home, I will be able to put on a show that they will all remember. I want to be able to go to the Olympics and perform my best and hopefully make everybody proud.”

In thanking God for allowing her to display her talent, her parents Tiffany Bullard and Letetia Dean and her family for providing the moral support, her friends who continue to encourage her and her coaches, especailly Mycock, whom sshesaid was there with her journey from day one.

“Coach Maycock was someone who instilled a lot in me and continues to encourage and motivate me to perform at my best,” she said. “A lot of credit must go to coach Maycock.

“He dedicates a lot of his time. He deirintely works with us to help us produce the results that we have. He pours a lot into his athletes. What you see is the results of what he has poured into us on a daily basis because we constantly talk on a daily basis.”

Maycock, who has also coached Keyshawn Strachan, a fifth place finisher for Auburn University in the men’s javelin, said beyond all of the accolades, his greatest joy is to see Otabor graduate on May 18.

“I’ve seen a lot of coaches put her down and even say that he would tap out early, but I had to keep her on the right track,” he said. “If nobody believed in her, it would have been a different story..

“But I sat down and told her that she doesn’t have any limits. Rhema is someone with heart and determination. You can’t tell what she can or cannot do. She will prove you wrong.”

Otabor, who spent her first two years in college at Florida International University, has announced that she will return to Nebraska after the Olympics to pursue her masters degree in Actuarial Science, a discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment and other industries and professions

“I’m glad that I got over one bump in the road, but I’m looking forward to returning for the second bump,” she said. “I am happy that I will be able to stay right at Nebraska and continue my studies. Hopefully I can help out with the track team as I look at competing on the professional circuit at the same time.”

With the Olympics on the horizon, Maycock said the plan is to prepare Otabor to throw at least 66-67 metres and that would enable her to be a contender in Paris.

“There’s a lot of things technically that she needs to improve on,” Maycock pointed out. “Those things will be ironed out because one thing about her is if you give her instructions, she’s going to carry them out.

“I’m sure with these technical issues ironed out, she’s going to have bigger performances coming up.”

There’s still a lot of hope that Strachan will be able to rebound from his shoulder injury and qualify for the Olympics. But if he doesn’t, Maycock said they will focus on the future ahead of Strachan, who will be heading into his senior year in August. 

Maycock, however, said he was pleased with the progress both Strachan and Otabor had made as they lead the list of talented javelin throwers in the Blue Chips Club.

“We have to fill those gaps when throwers like Taysha Stubbs and Dior-Rae Scott go on to college this year,” Maycock said. “We want to continue this javelin mecca that we are developing in the Caribbean and the Western hemisphere. 

“I don’t want that to die. We are looking for the next superstars for javelin so that we can continue to dominate.”

While Otabor and Strachan have stood out at the senior level, Maycock has coached a host of throwers who have excelled at the junior level, including Bullard, Stubbs, Scott, Latia Saunders, Kaden Cartwright, Annae Mackey, Kamara Strachan, Tarajh Hudson, Jaylen Stuart, Danielle Nixon, Laquell Harris and Acacia Astwood.

Otabor, a former softball player at Nassau Christian Academy, will be back in action this weekend before she returns home for the BAAA’s Nationals, June 26-28 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.