Three Aussies into Olympic javelin final
Reigning world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber has regained her mojo in the nick of time to lead a full complement of three Australians into the women’s javelin final at the Tokyo Olympics.
Kelsey-Lee Barber, of Australia, competes in qualifications for the women's javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
All year, Barber has struggled to get anywhere near the form that secured her Australia’s only gold medal of the 2019 world titles in Doha.
She still looked way out of sorts in the opening two rounds of the qualifying competition on Tuesday and seemed certain to make an early exit.
But Barber was able to lift in the final round with her best throw of the year, a 62.59m effort which saw her qualify for Friday’s final in third place overall.
Joining her in the final will be reigning Commonwealth champion Kathryn Mitchell (61.85m) and the unheralded MacKenzie Little, who threw a PB of 62.37m.
Title favourite Maria Andrejczyk from Poland led the qualifiers with 65.24m.
