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BIOGRAPHYThe rise of Tokyo Olympian Mackenzie Little in the last few years has been phenomenal. She has set a PB at three consecutive major meets, the Tokyo Olympics, 2022 World Championships and Birmingham Commonwealth Games. In 2023 she won bronze at the world championships. She has accomplished all of this while being a fulltime medical student. At the Tokyo Olympics, Mackenzie Little added 1.47m to her javelin PB (now at 62.37m) to coast into the final where she placed eight and created history with her Aussie teammates Kelsey-Lee Barber (third) and Kathryn Mitchell (sixth) with 3 Australians in the top-8. In 2022 she raised her PB on five occasions and winning silver at the Commonwealth Games. At the Eugene World Championships she led early, was in third entering the last round, but would eventually place fifth – just 5cm from the podium. She was also third and fourth in two Diamond League appearances. In April 2023 she defended her National title then won in Yokohama in May. On June 30 there was another leap forward by Mackenzie, winning the Lausanne Diamond League with a 1.43m PB of 65.70m. Two weeks later she was second at the Skolimowska DL with her second longest throw of 64.50m. In contrast to Eugene, at the 2023 world championships in the last round she moved from sixth to third. She closed the season with third in the Diamond League final and third ranked in the world. Her early 2024 campaign has concluded wins at the Australian and Oceania championships, second at the Suzhou Diamond League and a best mark of 62.12m. + + + + + Mackenzie Little started her athletics journey in Little Athletics in the under-6s, but moved on to team sports - soccer, softball, water polo, and hockey. One rainy morning before school in year 7 at Pymble Ladies College, when the hurdles were cancelled, she went to her first javelin training session. During her teenage years, Mackenzie didn’t just compete in the javelin, but also at a national level in the 400m hurdles and heptathlon. This all-round and gradual development will be the key for longevity for Little. By 15, she was already throwing over 50 metres. In 2013 she competed at the World Youth (U18) Championships in the Ukraine, where she added five metres to her personal best, to win gold. She graduated to the heavier javelin smoothly in 2014, throwing 57.60m, while only 17. A year later she was at Stanford University studying a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. Before she graduated in 2019, she had won two NCAA javelin titles and improved her best to 60.36m. Post college career Mackenzie struggled with her transition. Shoulder and elbow problems during this time did not help. In early 2020 she three just 55 or 56m in a few competition and soon we were now into COVID. But Mackenzie found her way to coach Angus McEntyre and he helped enormously with the injuries and a positive mindset. In 2020 Mackenzie commenced a medical degree and opened her 2020/21 campaign with a personal best of 61.42m and cementing her position as the sixth best in Australian history. She compiled a consistent summer of results in 2021 with four throws over 60m, and recording defeats over world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber and Australian record holder Kathryn Mitchell. At nationals she placed third and during a series of competitions in June in Queensland, where she through around 60 metres in a few competitions, she earned enough points to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, where she went on to set a personal best of 62.37m and placed eighth in the final. Mackenzie Little’s finals result in Tokyo was one of the surprise performances at the Olympics. The two-time NCAA (US colleges) javelin champion was selected in the last wave of athletes, as she just qualified for the Australian Olympic team through World Athletics points system. She arrived in Tokyo ranked 24th in the field of 30, but she defied that rating. In her first throw in the qualifying round, she nailed a PB of 62.37m, eventually ending up second in her pool and fourth overall. She had company as Australia set a record with three in the final as Kathryn Mitchell and Kelsey-Lee Barber joined her. In the final Mackenzie was again terrific placing eighth with a throw of 59.96m. Mackenzie, continued her progression in 2022, winning the Australian and Oceania titles and twice raising her PB, landing at 63.18m in June. At the World Championships in Eugene, Mackenzie snuck into the final as the last and 12th qualifier with a throw of 59.06m. But in the final, she set the competition alight with her opening PB throw of 63.22m. It held up as the leading throw until her teammate and defending champion Kelsey-Lee Barber passed her. Going into the last round she was third, but would eventually finish fifth, just 5cm from the bronze medal and less than a metre from the silver medal. Mackenzie continued her rise two weeks later at the Commonwealth Games where she set two PBs in the competition, finishing with 64.27m and the silver medal behind team mate and world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber. Three days later Mackenzie closed the season with third in the Monaco Diamond League. In a landmark year for Mackenzie she had raised her PB on five occasions in four meets. + + + + + Occupation (@10 June 24): Full time General Practitioner (GP) Doctor at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. Works 7.00am to 5.30pm daily…Education: High School Pymble Ladies College Sydney (2008-14); Stanford University - Bachelor of Science - BS, Human Biology (2015-19); Sydney University - Doctor of Medicine MD (2020-Nov 2023)… @ 10 June 24 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au
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