GOLDEN GIRL
NAILED IT: Barber a new Aussie world champion
NEW world javelin champion KelseyLee Barber says there is a special “emotional connection” in having her husband also being her coach.
The unusual dynamic had its greatest moment in Doha yesterday when the Canberra thrower became Australia’s ninth world champion in dramatic circumstances.
Mike Barber, a former decathlete, started coaching Kelsey-Lee in 2014. They were married in April last year.
“Obviously we have a pretty good connection,” he said after watching his wife win the world title with her final throw. “It’s one of those things. When I see the emotional side come from Kels I guess I’ve got a bit more of an understanding of how to calm her down and get her focused on what she needs to do. The coaching side of it is important but in a big competition like this it’s more about managing her emotions; just being able to centre herself and be ready to throw.
“The throw was there. We just have to find a way to get it out.”
Kelsey-Lee jumped from fourth to first when she nailed a 66.56m bomb with her last throw.
It had been some advice from Mike to change her run-up on the previous throw which had played a crucial role in the final result.
“It’s wonderful [having him as coach],” she said.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this [win a gold medal] without him.
“And especially tonight my performance couldn’t have been achieved without him on the fence.
KELSEY-LEE Barber closed her eyes, let out a deep breath and tried to loosen her shoulders.
She could hear the message in her head from her husband/ coach Mike sitting behind her in the stand.
“Find the calm in the moment,” was what he’d told her leading into the world championships javelin final.
Currently she was sitting in fourth position. This was her last throw. It was all or nothing. She needed that calm.
A slight change to her runup before the previous throw had felt good. Mike had liked what he’d seen.
After seeing the fifth throw get out to 63.65m he turned to Australian team coach Craig Hilliard next to him and said: “I reckon she might have this.”
He liked her body language. He also knew she had a track record of producing in the final round of competitions.
The bigger the stakes the better she went.
“She just has this innate ability,” he would say later.
The moment Kelsey-Lee let the javelin go she knew it was clean. And for javelin throwers clean means good and more often than not it means big.
She was sure it was over 65 metres but wasn’t sure by how much. Then she saw the electronic screen flash up 66.56 and she lost it.
“My head was spinning a bit and then I was like wait, I can't celebrate too early,” KelseyLee said.
She had just produced one of the great clutch moments in Australian sport, but again she had to “find the calm” as there were three throwers remaining in the competition.
The two Chinese women — one who had won her past 12 competitions — had been the hot favourites coming into the event but they had never faced this sort of pressure.
They both failed to handle it which meant Australia had its ninth track and field world champion and first ever in the javelin.
To put the clutch performance in perspective, KelseyLee had just kicked a goal after the siren to win the AFL grand final. And in the process put a target on the Canberra thrower's back ahead of next year's Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s pretty fantastic to have a bit of a target on my back,” she said. “If they keep pushing me I am going to throw further and next year hope to be on the podium again.”
The thought of being the best in the world started to solidify in Kelsey-Lee’s head two years earlier when she finished 10th in the world championships final in London. Then when she won the silver medal at last year's Commonwealth Games, everything turned to being the best in Doha.