Kelsey-Lee Barber makes athletics history in never-before-seen feat
Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber has become the first woman in athletics history to win back-to-back javelin titles at world championships level.
Barber further fuelled her reputation as a supreme big-event competitor at Hayward Field in Oregon on Friday evening with a huge third-round throw of 66.91 metres.
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The Aussie's winning throw was more than two-and-a half metres better than American Kara Winger's silver-medal effort of 64.05m.
Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan was third with 63.27m, while Australian Mackenzie Little finished fifth with a PB of 63.22m.
Here is the third round throw that saw Kelsey-Lee Barber join Sally Pearson, Cathy Freeman and Jana Pittman as dual world champions for @AthsAust https://t.co/EN5RvEeOgW
— QUENTIN HULL (@QuentinHull) July 23, 2022
In winning the gold, Barber became the first woman to successfully defend a javelin title at the world championships after her triumph in 2019.
She also joined Cathy Freeman, Sally Pearson and Jana Pittman as Australia's only female athletes to win multiple gold medals at world championships level.
Barber and Freeman are now the only Australian athletes to successfully defend a title at the world championships after Freeman won back-to-back 400m gold medals in 1997 and 1999.
The 30-year-old Barber has now won medals at each of her past three major championships - world gold in 2019 and 2022, and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Three years ago at the world championships in Doha, Barber clinched gold with her final throw in dramatic scenes.
This time it happened much earlier in the competition, allowing her to watch on as her competitors tried in vain to match her mammoth third throw.
Athletics fans and commentator were left in disbelief over Barber's historic feat.
Kelsey-Lee Barber goes a BACK TO BACK
— Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) July 23, 2022
GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA 🥇
Kelsey-Lee Barber becomes the first woman to defend her world title in the javelin event, throwing 66.91m ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/pWX43yfuoJ— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) July 23, 2022
This is just the third time Australia has won multiple gold medals at a World Athletics Championships (2 in Berlin '09 and Osaka '07).
And it's the women getting it done!
Eleanor Patterson - High Jump 🥇
Kelsey-Lee Barber - Javelin 🥇
Nina Kennedy - Pole Vault 🥉#WCHOregon22— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) July 23, 2022
Kelsey-Lee Barber is an ALL TIME GREAT🥇🥇
How clutch can one athlete be? Rocks up to majors in meh form. Says stuff that and produces monster throws every time. Ppl think “she can’t do it again can she?”…But she just does
The first athlete to defend the Women’s Jav title ever— Tim Rosen (@timrosen35) July 23, 2022
You love to see it! A second @WCHoregon22 gold for @AthsAust as Kelsey-Lee Barber defends her world championship!! https://t.co/BKOlJpv2qo
— Dan Coppel (@dcoppel) July 23, 2022
Australia now has a second gold medal at the world champs, Kelsey-Lee Barber defending her title in the women's javelin. Huge! https://t.co/xyoD4ziczM
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) July 23, 2022
Kelsey-Lee Barber just defended her women's Javelin World Championship 🥇 GOLD medal. First woman to ever achieve that feat. Incredible final throw.
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) July 23, 2022
Catriona Bisset misses out on 800m final
Meanwhile, national record holder Catriona Bisset was unable to take advantage of her good fortune after being added to the 800m semi-finals having been pushed to the track in her opening-round heat.
The Aussie runner trailed home last in her semi-final in two minutes 05.20 seconds on Friday.
The Victorian required 11 stitches to mend a wound on her thigh after she was spiked by another runner after her fall.
Reigning Commonwealth champion Kurtis Marschall also bowed out of the men's pole vault qualifying round in disappointing fashion.
Marschall's only successful jump was at 5.50m before he failed three times at 5.65m, way below his PB of 5.87m.
Earlier on Friday, 49-year-old mother-of-four Kelly Ruddick - the oldest female athlete ever to compete at a world championships - came home 34th of the 35 finishers in the women's 35km walk.
With two days of competition remaining, Australia now has three medals – two gold and a bronze – with the possibility of a few more to come.
Barber joined high-jumper Eleanor Patterson in winning gold for Australia, while Nina Kennedy claimed bronze in the pole-vault.
It is just the third time in history that Australia has won multiple gold medals at a single athletics world championships, after two in Osaka in 2007 and Berlin in 2009.
with AAP
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