Kaila Butler will have to wait another four years to possibly earn her first trip to a Summer Olympics.
However, the New Westminster-born hammer-thrower reached a career milestone last month in adding to her Canadian championship medal haul.
The 25-year-old Port Coquitlam-raised athlete claimed second place at the track-and-field Olympic trials in Montreal on June 26, heaving the ball and chain to 66.39 metres.
The Bowling Green University alumna reached that feat on her second clean attempt; her fifth out of six in total.
That was roughly 8.5 metres behind eventual-champion, and fellow B.C. competitor, Camryn Rogers (75.05 metres), who booked the lone ticket to represent Canada at Paris 2024.
Butler's silver is the fifth national hardware since 2017, when she won gold at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, Man.
In the years that followed, she collected silver at the Canadian senior championships in 2019 and 2023, plus a bronze in 2022.
In November last year, Butler reached her first international podium, winning bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, with a throw of 65.10 metres.
"I'm just really really proud of myself for battling back and for having the performance that I could have when it mattered. It's really really special," said Butler in a video on social media following the event.
Butler's personal best hammer throw is 69.35 metres while competing for Bowling Green at the 2022 Len Paddock Open during the NCAA Div. I track and field season.
She represents Kamloops Track and Field Club when competing at Canadian competitions.
Internationally, Butler has competed in eight different countries in her 2024 campaign. She won gold at invitational events in the United States and Switzerland, while making the top five in Kenya, Norway and Slovakia.
In 2022, she threw for Canada at the Commonwealth Games in England, finishing eighth after qualifying for the final.
We already knew from the World Athletics Championships this summer that Canada is a hammer throw nation! 🇨🇦 🔨
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) November 1, 2023
Kaila Butler is keeping things going with a bronze medal in the women’s hammer throw at the Pan Am Games! 🥉#TeamCanada
pic.twitter.com/TMHYmLA3Mq
