Kelsey-Lee Barber (née Roberts; born 20 September 1991) is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She won consecutive gold medals at the 2019 World Championships and 2022 World Championships, the first person to do so, and her personal best of 67.70 m ranks her 13th in the overall list.
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.Australian javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Roberts looking to make impact at 2015 world championships in Beijing Australian Broadcasting Corporation 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.
She married her coach Mike Barber after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.Kelsey-Lee Barber uses Brisbane comeback as Olympic launching pad The Canberra Times
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.
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.
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.
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.Kelsey-Lee Barber puts down Olympic marker with personal best The Australian 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.Report: women's javelin - IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 IAAF She was recognised in the Canberra Sport Awards as Female Athlete of the Year.
In 2021, following the COVID-19 disruptions to competition, Barber threw 61.09 m to place second at the national titles.
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. Later that year, she also won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 64.43m.
Competition record Representing 2014Commonwealth GamesGlasgow, United Kingdom3rdJavelin throw62.95 m2015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China20th (q)Javelin throw60.18 m2016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil28th (q)Javelin throw55.25 m2017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom10thJavelin throw60.76 m2018Commonwealth GamesGold Coast, Australia2ndJavelin throw63.89 m2019World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar1stJavelin throw66.56 m2021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan3rdJavelin throw64.56 m2022World ChampionshipsEugene, United States1stJavelin throw66.91 m2022Commonwealth GamesBirmingham, United Kingdom1stJavelin throw64.43 m2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary7thJavelin throw61.19 m2024Olympic GamesParis, France26th (q)Javelin throw57.73 m
Seasonal bests by year
References
External links
Kelsey-Lee Barber at Australian Athletics Kelsey-Lee Barber (Roberts) at Australian Athletics Historical Results
Kelsey-Lee Barber at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (archived, alternate link)