Kathryn Mitchell

BIOGRAPHY

Kathryn Mitchell has been ranked consistently among the best female javelin throwers in Australia for over two decades, representing at all the major championships. But there was a major turning point in her career in early 2018 when she became the seventh longest javelin thrower in world history and threw the longest distance in the world form five years.

She was selected for the Tokyo Games – her Olympics following London and Rio. It was a shaky start for her in the qualifying round in Tokyo, tripping over on her first attempt and landing on the grass infield.
"I stacked it on the first one. My leg turnover wasn't right, I'm not even sure what happened really, I just realised I was laying on the grass. That impacted mentally, I tried to reset, start again and return to what I try do every throw. The second one had better timing and it was enough," Mitchell explained. 
She joined Kelsey-Lee Barber and Mackenzie Little in the final – the first time in Olympic history Australia has had three athletes in the men’s or women’s javelin final. In the final Kathryn duplicated her distance with a throw of 61.82m to place sixth - her third consecutive top-8 Olympic result.

After the Games Kathryn experienced a tough time with the passing of her mother.

Making a late start to her 2022 campaign, Kathryn threw a best of 57.36m in June, ahead of appearances for Australia at the Commonwealth Games and world championships. Her selection for Birmingham, her fifth Commonwealth Games, along with Eloise Wellings, was a record for an Aussie track and field athlete with no athlete previously selected for more than four Games appearances.

In the javelin qualifying rounds in Eugene, Kathryn fouled her first two attempts, mustering 53.09m on her third attempt. Two weeks later at the Commonwealth Games, she arrived as the defending champion, but was unable to start in the competition suffering an unknown virus she picked up when travelling from America.

Still unwell in 2023 she eventually made it to the Budapest World Championships.
“Six weeks ago I pulled the pin on the season,” she said in Budapest. “I couldn’t get healthy, was just struggling. By the time I got well enough to train I had a three-week window to qualify. I had pretty much stopped thinking about the world championships, and it was like ‘[let’s] start preparing for next year.”

In the qualifying round she required just one throw (62.10m) to automatically qualify for the final. She was also joined in the final by her teammates Mackenzie Little and Kelsey-Lee Barber. But the final didn’t go to plan when on her final throw in the warm-up for the final she torn her adductor.

Recovered and into her 2024 campaign she opened the season with a brilliant win at the Maurie Plant Meet in February throwing 62.12m. At Nationals she was second and again over 60 metres, but in late April in China she ruptured her soleus (lower calf muscle) on her first throw.
A week later she wrote: “What’s important in these situations, speaking from vast experience, is that we stay optimistic, respect the body’s healing process, train what is trainable, control what is controllable double time. My head is good. My body is good. And I have time to recover.

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She started javelin by luck growing up in a Victorian country town Casterton. “I grew up on a small farm and one year my sister borrowed a javelin from the school to throw around the paddock to practice for the school sports and I had a go. I didn’t get to do a competition in javelin until I started high school when I was 13 years old. I broke the school record in the first competition.”

Before taking javelin seriously aged 17 she played tennis, basketball, sprinted, made state in long jump and was a boundary line umpire.
She made her international debut at the 2003 World University Games and three years later in her home state of Victoria, competing at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. She has competed at four Commonwealth Games, improving her place on every occasion, after sixth in Melbourne she was fifth, then fourth, before gold at the Gold Coast Games.

Her Olympic debut in London was a turning point in her career. Aged 29 she committed to making her first Olympics and if not, it would be the end of her career. Having not thrown over 60 metres in her career, during 2012 she exceeded that barrier on eight occasions with an impressive best of 64.34m, qualified for the Olympics and made the final. Her career continued to progress, up to 66 metres and a final at the 2013 world championships and Rio Olympics. 

After missing the final at the 2017 London world championships she felt burned out and took a rest. She then tried some different processes under the VIS Sports Psychologist Mark Spargo and in early 2018, she compiled a phenomenal series of performances with a series of PBs - 66.73m (January), 67.58m (February) and 68.57m (March). The last two were Australian records and the best mark elevated her to number seven in history and was the longest throw in the world since 2013.

Then in April was the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where she launched her opening attempt to another PB and Australian record of 68.92m. She was very emotional after the performance, in tears as the reality set in.

After limited activity for two years, she returned in good form in 2021 exceeding 63 metres on three occasions and claiming just her third national title and a berth for her third Olympic Games.

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Sporting Career Highlight: 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games…Hometown: Casterton, Victoria Hobbies: Art, landscaping, gardening, design and minimalism…..Most influential people: current coach Uwe Hohn…..Memorable career moment: Winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games…..Biggest challenges during your career: Losing my Mum after the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games and definitely injuries, they can come at any time even when you are in great shape and really derail your training and competition….Best aspects of being a professional athlete: Being able to pursue my passion for a living. It’s not a lot for a living but it allows me to train and put everything I can into being a better athlete. It allows me to travel and see many beautiful places. The lifestyle of being fit and healthy is also great… Advice for your younger self: Nobody is thinking about you as much as you think they are.

@ 30 June 2024 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au