Kelsey-Lee Barber

Kelsey-Lee Barber (née Roberts; born 20 September 1991) is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw.[3] She won gold at the 2019 World Championships, and her personal best of 67.70 m ranks her 13th in the overall list.

Kelsey-Lee Barber
Kelsey-Lee Barber in Busto Arsizio in 2017
Personal information
Birth nameKelsey-Lee Roberts
NationalityAustralian
Born (1991-09-20) 20 September 1991
East London, South Africa[1]
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportAthletics
Event(s)Javelin throw
Coached byMike Barber
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)67.70 m (2019)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2020 Tokyo Javelin throw
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 EugeneJavelin throw
Gold medal – first place2019 DohaJavelin throw
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2022 BirminghamJavelin throw
Silver medal – second place2018 Gold CoastJavelin throw
Bronze medal – third place2014 GlasgowJavelin throw

Barber is based at the Queensland Academy of Sport in Brisbane. She was formerly based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Personal life

Born in East London, South Africa, Barber's family moved to Australia in 2000.[4] It was this relocation that setup the career of Barber.

Barber arrived in Australia during the Sydney Olympics and lived in Corryong in Victoria. Her uncle and aunt owned a dairy farm and she competed in athletics at the school carnival. She was so successful that she progressed in discus competitions through the zone and regional carnivals. She moved from Corryong to Canberra in 2007 and started taking athletics more seriously. She trained with a coach and at age 17 won the javelin at the Pacific School Games in Canberra.[5]

She married her coach Mike Barber after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[6]

Career

Barber made her international debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, finishing third with 62.95 m. She competed at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing without qualifying for the final. A back injury in early 2016 disrupted her preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics and she finished 28th in qualifying.[7]

Barber had a breakthrough season in 2017. She produced three consecutive personal bests in competitions in Turku, Lausanne and London. At the World Championships, she qualified automatically for the final and finished 10th. She finished the season with a silver medal at the Diamond League Final in Zurich and another personal best of 64.53 m.[3]

In 2018, she placed second at the national titles behind Kathryn Mitchell. Barber threw a new personal best of 64.57 m at the Queensland International Track Classic in Brisbane on 28 March. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games Barber received a silver medal with a 63.89 m throw.[8]

Barber won gold at the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships with a personal best and championship record 65.61 m throw. At the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern in July, she won gold and improved on her personal best, throwing 67.70 m. This also moved Barber to second on the Oceanian list behind Mitchell, and into 12th in the overall list.[9] She won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships with 66.56 m on the final throw, moving her from 4th to 1st place.[10] She was recognised in the Canberra Sport Awards as Female Athlete of the Year.[11]

In 2021, following the COVID-19 disruptions to competition, Barber threw 61.09 m to place second at the national titles.[12]

Barber won bronze in the final at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, throwing 64.56m.

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Barber won a gold medal in javelin, making her the first woman to ever retain the women's World Championships javelin title.[13] Later that year, she also won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 64.43m.

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Australia
2014[1] Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd Javelin throw 62.95 m
2015[14] World Championships Beijing, China 20th (q) Javelin throw 60.18 m
2016[15] Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 28th (q) Javelin throw 55.25 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 10th Javelin throw 60.76 m
2018[16] Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 2nd Javelin throw 63.89 m
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 1st Javelin throw 66.56 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd Javelin throw 64.56 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 1st Javelin throw 66.91 m
2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st Javelin throw 64.43 m
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 7th Javelin throw 61.19 m

Seasonal bests by year

References
  1. "Glasgow 2014 - Kelsey-lee Roberts Profile". results.glasgow2014.com.
  2. "2018 CWG bio". Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  3. Kelsey-Lee Barber at World Athletics
  4. Australian javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Roberts looking to make impact at 2015 world championships in Beijing Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  5. "Kelsey-Lee Barber". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. Kelsey-Lee Barber uses Brisbane comeback as Olympic launching pad The Canberra Times
  7. Adams, David Polkinghorne, Melissa. "Harnessing the power of her mind". Retrieved 27 July 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Sunette adds javelin bronze to Team SA medal tally". Daily Voice. Cape Town. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  9. Kelsey-Lee Barber puts down Olympic marker with personal best The Australian
  10. Report: women's javelin - IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 IAAF
  11. Dutton, Chris (19 November 2019). "Canberra sport awards: Kelsey-Lee Barber, Nathan Lyon and Capitals win big". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  12. "Rohan Browning wins men's 100 metres national championship ahead of Tokyo Olympics". ABC News. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  13. "Australian Barber retains javelin world title". ESPN.com. 23 July 2022.
  14. "Javelin Throw Women – Qualification" (PDF). Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  15. Dutton, Chris (16 August 2016). "Olympic Games 2016: Canberra javelin thrower Roberts' Rio campaign ends in tears". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  16. "Kelsey-Lee Roberts". GC2018. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
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