PARIS, France — Back home in Terre Haute, Erin Reese spends days as a mental health case worker, then goes to Indiana State track and field practice to throw the hammer and coach the college women.
It has not been that way at the Paris Olympics.
“It’s been amazing, just to have a week where you’re an athlete and nothing else,” Reese said.
It has been the experience of a lifetime. What she really wanted to do, however, was compete for a hammer medal at the Paris Olympics.
Reese finished 14th Sunday in qualifying at Stade de France. Her distance of 230 feet, 5 inches left her short of the 12 to advance.
Still, she will always have Paris.
She traveled to Europe for the first time. Boarded the boat next to LeBron James for opening ceremony. Experienced the diversity of humanity that is the Olympic Village. Hung out with throwers whose posters she has attached to the wall.
Reese, 28, was the 2019 NCAA runner-up while at Indiana State. She finished second to Canada’s Camryn Rogers, the reigning world champion and No. 2 qualifier in Paris.
After throwing 225-6 in the first round, Reese improved to 230-5 in the second and climbed to sixth in Group A. Her last attempt was a foul, landing left of the sector line.
Reese said she held onto the handle “a smidge too long,” and that the last one was probably the best one. She was seventh in her group and had to await results of Group B to learn if she made the cut.
Likewise, when she was third at the Olympic Trials, she had to wait to see if her world ranking would make the cut.
“It’s always a waiting game with me,” Reese said. “I’d rather be in this position than not.”
Krista Tervo, a 26-year-old Finn, topped qualifying at 245-4. The two other Americans, 2019 world champion DeAnna Price (242-1) and 2024 national champion Annette Echikunwoke (241-2), were third and fourth.
Reese felt support from so many corners.
Her family in suburban Chicago was holding a 3 a.m. watch party. Six friends traveled to Paris to see her throw. She was getting so many texts from Terre Haute, she had to put away the cellphone.
“I couldn’t handle it,” Reese said.
She continues to learn how to handle the hammer. When she first picked it up at Dayton, she was so bad, her college coach told the throws coach to quit wasting time on her.
Besides, the event looked “terrifying,” he said.
When Reese arrived on her first global stage, it felt different. She said she felt calm, felt as if she belonged.
Reese has committed to continuing throwing through 2028, when the Olympics will be in Los Angeles. Improvement has been incremental but continuous. At February’s USA Indoor Championships, she came within less than a foot of the world record in the 20-pound weight.
“I’m still learning how to be involved in this,” Reese said. “So I’m excited for the future.”
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.