Athletics-Barber wins Australia's first javelin world title
Oct 1, 2019; Doha; Qatar; Kelsey-Lee Barber (AUS) wins the women's javelin with a throw of 218-4 (66.56m) during the IAAF World Athletics Championships at Khalifa International Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
DOHA (Reuters) - Kelsey-Lee Barber became the first Australian to win the javelin world title on Tuesday, clinching it with her last throw of the competition and ending one of the longest winning streaks in the sport.
The 28-year-old threw 66.56 metres to take her from fourth place to first and draw a huge cheer from the half-full Khalifa stadium.
China took silver and bronze with Liu Shiying throwing 65.88 and the in-form Lyu Huihui 65.49 respectively. Lyu had won her 12 previous meetings and had extended her own world-leading Asian record three times.
Athletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Women's Javelin Throw Final - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - October 1, 2019. Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber celebrates winning gold. REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari
Barber had struggled even to reach for the 12-woman final, finishing 10th in qualifying.
"I was holding off my nerves yesterday waiting for the qualifying to see if I got through," she said. "It shows that today is a new day, a clean slate and you have to throw big if you want to be the best."
Athletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Women's Javelin Throw Final - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - October 1, 2019. Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber celebrates winning gold. REUTERS/Ibraheem Al OmariAthletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Women's Javelin Throw Final - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - October 1, 2019 Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber in action REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Toby Davis)
Athletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Women's Javelin Throw Final - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - October 1, 2019. Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber gestures. REUTERS/Ibraheem Al OmariAthletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Women's Javelin Throw Final - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - October 1, 2019 Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber celebrates winning gold REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
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