Super Mac emerges from shadow of Kelsey-Lee with two sterling silver PBs

MACKENZIE Little was pumped, her family in the crowd were pumped, but she never let her mind wander to the end result.

She was in the lead of the Commonwealth Games final and had just thrown two new personal bests, but the problem was Kelsey-Lee Barber still had one throw to come.

“We always know (Kelsey-Lee) is there,” Little said. “She’s not out until the last round, so I knew I had to be there too. I asked for the crowd for the first time and that was so fun to have the crowd involved.”

Little, 25, has shown herself to be a first-throw specialist, given she has done it at her past three major championships.

In Birmingham she started the competition with a personal best 64.03m — she then improved it to 64.27m with her second-last throw — and led until the final throw.

At the world championships in Eugene last month she hit the ground running with a personal best 63.22m and was still in the lead halfway through the competition before she slipped to fifth.

Last year at the Tokyo Olympics, which was her debut in the green and gold, Little arrived ranked 24 in the field of 30, but with her first throw in qualifying nailed a PB of 62.37m, which booked her a spot in the final.

Little cut her teeth on the NCAA circuit after getting a scholarship at Stanford University, where she studied a bachelor of science in human biology. By this stage she had already won a title at the World Youth Championships in Ukraine in 2013.

Little, who now lives in Sydney, has since added an Australian and Oceania title to her CV and knows if she produces performances like he came up with in Birmingham there will be more to come.

“I gave it my best and that’s all I can do. My coach said all the right things, we were in such good shape,” she said. “Having that competition aspect only made it even better. The crowd was really involved. Everyone was really invested. I think it’s perfect.

“I threw two personal bests and I can’t get better than that. I had my family here, I knew they were there and I knew how excited they’d be for me. I’m absolutely thrilled.”