Tokyo Olympics 2021: Kelsey-Lee Barber reveals moments of doubt leading up to javelin bronze
‘I have had such moments of doubt, such moments of pressure.’ Challenged in ways she never anticipated, Kelsey-Lee Barber bounced back with a performance for the ages in Tokyo.
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Bronze medallist Kelsey-Lee Barber says she could write a book about what she has been through over the past two years.
The title would surely have to be - CLUTCH.
Barber produced one of the biggest clutch moments in Australian sport to win the 2019 world javelin title in Doha with her final throw.
In Tokyo she did it again, this time she was staring at an inglorious exit in the qualifying round on Tuesday morning before a booming throw got her into Friday night’s final.
And it was there where Barber showed how much she thrives in the spotlight, turning around a horrible year to fight out for the medals, just missing silver by 5cm and winning bronze in 64.56m.
From the yips to the medals dais was something the 29-year-old thought wasn’t going to happen several times in the lead-up to Tokyo.
“I could write a book on the past two years and what I have been through,” Barber said.
“I have had such moments of doubt, such moments of pressure. Carrying so much baggage at different points of the year and I think I just have to say thank you to my husband (and coach Mike).
“I don’t want to go into details on what specifically came up because I know every athlete has their challenges, but I just can’t tell you how much I was challenged in ways that I never anticipated.”
Barber led a three-pronged Aussie contingent in the javelin final with Kathryn Mitchell finishing sixth and Olympic debutant Mackenzie Little eighth.
“I love it, I live for those moments and I can’t tell how much I’ve missed it over the last few years,” she said.
“Just being out there, soaking it up and just reminding myself I love being an athlete, I love the event and I just wanted to make the most of it.
“I am so happy with the Aussie girls, the way we represented our country out on the field and on the track, it is incredible and I hope that we have inspired other girls to throw, other young girls to be on the track.
“This is a beautiful sport and we’ve made ourselves proud.”
Barber overcomes yips to claim Aussie javelin bronze
Kelsey-Lee Barber has produced one of the more remarkable form reversals in Tokyo, going from career-worst form to winning an Olympic bronze medal in the javelin.
The reining world champion was a shadow of herself leading into the Games but that all changed after one throw in the qualifying round on Tuesday.
That throw saved her from an embarrassing exit and she was a different person afterwards with this new-found confidence flowing onto the final.
Barber launched a 63.69m with her second throw and then a season’s best 64.04m with her fourth which put her in the bronze medal position.
Then, on her final throw of the competition, she went agonisingly close to snatching silver, 64.56m, just six centimetres shy of Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk.
China’s Shiying Liu won the gold medal with her first throw of the competition, 66.34m.
Barber has been a fascinating story in the lead-up to Tokyo.
In 2019 she famously won the world title in Doha with her final throw in one of the biggest clutch moments in Australian sporting history.
But she had struggled badly mentally this year and admitted before the Olympic trials that she had the “yips”.
These confidence issues seemed to have followed her in Tokyo with her two opening throws in Tuesday’s qualifying again well below the 60m mark.
That was until the final throw where Barber cleared her mind of the fog and ripped out a stunning 62.59m to make it through to the final.
This new-found confidence was evident from the start of the final, where she threw 61.98m with her opener and it kept flowing from there.
After the qualifying miracle, the Canberra-based thrower declared: “I wasn’t going to go out like that. One of my strengths is that, when you ask me to do something, I can rise to the occasion and I can rise.”
She was a woman of her word, winning Australia’s second bronze medal of the athletics program after Ashley Moloney’s effort in the decathlon on Thursday night.
Australia had a quarter of the field in the final, with debutant Mackenzie Little showing she belonged in the big time by finishing eighth with a best throw of 59.96m.
National record-holder Kathryn Mitchell was consistently around the 60 m mark but couldn’t find a big one, finishing sixth with a best of 61.82m.
Originally published as Tokyo Olympics 2021: Kelsey-Lee Barber reveals moments of doubt leading up to javelin bronze
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