Major Credentials Enter Centre Stage as Barber Eyes Three-Peat

Four Australian global medallists will take centre stage on Day Seven of the World Athletics Championships, as reigning world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber aims for a historic three-peat, the versatile Ash Moloney begins his Budapest quest and high flyers Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers take to qualification.  

Australia will enter the Women’s Javelin Final with strength with both numbers and credentials, as back-to-back world champion Barber (QLD, Mike Barber) looks to become the first Australian to win three individual global titles, while Olympic finalists Kathryn Mitchell (VIC, Uwe Hohn) and Mackenzie Little (NSW, Angus McEntyre) make a strong bid for their first world medals.

While reigning champion Barber faced adversity when almost knocked out of the final in the qualification round, the big-stage performer and one of Australia’s greatest clutch performers believes there is no reason she can’t be on top of the world once more. 

Losing control of the contest and unable to hold tension in her body on the runway, Barber has used the 48-hours between rounds to put in the work both physically and mentally and is ready to shine. 

“It was as much about an emotional recovery as it was a physical recovery after that. It’s a hard reset now and a clean slate,” Barber said.

“I have believed it for a long time that a three-peat is possible. The qualification round was just a little bit of shaky ground, but I am a competitor and a performer when it counts and this is my arena on Friday night.”
 
Barber has claimed medals at all major championships since 2019, including Olympic bronze in Tokyo and Commonwealth gold in Birmingham, and is only one of four Australian athletes to have won two world championship gold medals alongside Olympic greats Catherine Freeman, Sally Pearson and Jana Pittman.  

Final year medicine student Little will launch as the third-seeded athlete from the qualification rounds, having executed a last-ditch attempt of 63.45m to secure an automatic spot in the final. Underrated on the world scene based on experience alone, Little’s chances for her first global medal are sky high, with the in-form thrower holding the third furthest throw this year at 65.70m - her personal best. 

“I have got so much more and I just want to have fun and throw the way I know I can,” Little said.

In contrast to her countrywomen, 41-year-old Mitchell needed only one throw at 62.10m to reach the final; a seasons best which signified her comeback to the top after two difficult years since the Tokyo Olympic Games, punctuated by the passing of her mother.

Also in the javelin, Cameron McEntyre (NSW, Angus McEntyre) hits the runway in the Men’s Event as the 24-year-old aims for his first global final having missed out on a berth at the Oregon edition of the Championships last year. The 2022 national champion is number nine on the Australian all-time list, with a personal best of 81.96m. 

Ash Moloney (QLD, Steve Rippon) announced his arrival to the upper echelons of global athletics at the Tokyo Olympics, when famously claiming Australia’s first ever decathlon medal. Since then, the talented Queenslander has experienced two years of injury and is yet to finish another full decathlon, having withdrawn from the 2022 World Championships citing patellar tendinitis. 

Alongside fellow Olympian Cedric Dulber (QLD, Chris Gaviglio) and Commonwealth silver medallist Daniel Golubovic (QLD, Paul Pearce), Moloney will take on ten events over two days on his quest to be named the world’s most versatile athlete. 
 
Holding the national record at 8,492, Moloney has the ability to sprint to 10.34 over 100m, vault to heights of 5.05m, leap to 7.72m in the long jump, and most impressively, clock 45.82 over 400m; an event that separates the prodigious talent from his fiercest rivals. Experienced campaigner Dubler lines up with a personal best of 8393 and a 14th place at the Hypomeeting World Athletics Gold Level meet in Gotzis, while Golubovic enters the arena in form, having achieved 8301 points for sixth place at the same meet.  

Oceania record holder Catriona Bisset (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams) leads Australia’s two-pronged attack on the 800m Semi Finals, as 22-year-old Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) looks for a spot in her first global final. Bisset ran her way to another sub-two minute performance of 1:59.46 in Wednesday’s heats to claim automatic qualification, while Caldwell also clinched automatic qualification in her heat with third place in 2:00.29.

On the field for the first time today is a trio of Australia’s premier high jumpers, soaring for gold to retain the country’s title. In 2022, Eleanor Patterson (NSW, Alex Stewart) produced an inspiring performance that delivered Australia’s first title in the event and the Leongatha-native will now be looking to soar to new heights to defend her crown. 

One of Patterson’s biggest rivals comes in the form of teammate and Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell), who has won nine out of ten competitions this year, equalling her Australian record of 2.02m. 18-year-old Erin Shaw (NSW, Alex Stewart), fourth place getter at the 2022 World Athletics Under 20 Championships, completes the Australian contingent in the qualifying rounds as she looks to follow in the footsteps of her compatriots. 

Rounding out Australia’s proceedings on Day Seven of the Championships will be the Australian Women’s 4x100m relay team consisting of debutant Ebony Lane (VIC, Matt Carter) and two-time World Championships representative Kristie Edwards (QLD, David Reid), as well as sprint specialists  Bree Masters (QLD, Ryan Hoffman) and Torrie Lewis (QLD, Andrew Iselin) who make their return to the arena after being run out of the 100m heats. 

The 2023 World Athletics Championships continue until August 27, with the country’s travelling team of 66 looking to build upon the success of Australian athletics seen over the past two years.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 25/8/2023