Aussie star Mackenzie Little overcomes injury-plagued year to deliver clutch final throw to earn javelin bronze at the World Athletics Championships

Aussie star Mackenzie Little overcomes injury-plagued year with clutch final throw to earn javelin bronze at the World Athletics Championships

• World titles are being held in Budapest 
• Three Aussie women made the final 
• Little’s final throw earned her place on the podium 

By John Salvado For Australian Associated Press

Updated: 01:26 BST, 26 August 2023

Australian Mackenzie Little has produced a clutch final-round throw to claim the bronze medal in the women’s javelin at the World Athletics Championships.

For much of the competition, it looked like Australia’s three-pronged challenge would end without anyone gaining a spot on the podium.

But the 26-year-old Little had other ideas.

Her last throw of 63.38m moved her from fifth position to second, only for Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi to then blow the competition apart with a huge heave of 66.73m that was good enough for gold.

Little’s bronze was the third medal won by Australia at the Budapest world titles.

Little has battled injury this season but overcame those setbacks to claim the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships

Little celebrates after realising she did enough with a huge final throw to earn her place on the podium in Budapest

Colombia’s Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado (65.47m) took the silver.

In recent years, it has been two-time defending world champ Kelsey-Lee Barber regularly coming up with the final-round heroics.

But she could not find a way into podium contention on Friday night (early Saturday AEST), eventually finishing seventh with 61.19m.

It was the first time since 2017 that Barber had come away from a major championships without a medal.

National record holder Kathryn Mitchell hurled her water bottle to the ground in frustration and stormed off the arena in tears after tearing her adductor on her final warm-up, just minutes before the final began.

The 41-year-old has endured an injury-plagued year and only qualified for the championships last month.

It was a nervous finish for Little who saved her best for last to claim the bronze medal in a stellar final that include two other Aussies

Silver medal winner Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado of Cuba, gold medal winner Haruki Kitaguchi of Japan and bronze medal winner Mackenzie Little of Australia

There was also misfortune for Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Ash Moloney and Cedric Dubler, who both failed to complete day one of the decathlon due to injury.

Moloney was languishing in 16th spot after the opening three disciplines of the gruelling two-day event before reluctantly pulling the pin with a hamstring complaint.

Dubler only lasted one more event before he too bowed out.

Australian record holder Catriona Bisset and Abbey Caldwell were eliminated in the 800m semi-finals.

The 22-year-old Caldwell could take great heart from breaking the two-minute mark for the first two times in her career in Budapest.

Australia failed to get the baton around in the opening round of the women’s 4x100m relay after Bree Masters and Kristie Edwards made a mess of the second change.

:

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk