Australian javelin thrower, Kelsey-Lee Barber, who spent some of her formative years in Corryong, is focused on adding an Olympic gold medal in Paris to go with the bronze she won in Tokyo in 2020.

It was her family’s relocation to Australia in her teenage years that put the then Kelsey-Lee Roberts on her athletics pathway.

She arrived from South Africa during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and lived in Corryong where her uncle and aunt owned a dairy farm. She competed in athletics at the Corryong College carnival and progressed in the discus events through the zone and regional carnivals.

After moving from Corryong to Canberra in 2007, Barber took athletics Indoor Bias Bowls High Country Darts more seriously, switched to the javelin and started training with a coach.

At her last four major championships – Commonwealth Games, Olympics and two World Championships, Kelsey- Lee has a stunning record of winning three gold, a silver and two bronze medals.

In 2023, she competed on her 10th Australian team at her fifth world championships in Budapest but was unable to make history by winning a third consecutive world title.

In June, the 32-year-old athlete revealed that she had been battling an elbow issue in the lead-up to Paris but she is now set to compete in the qualifying heats which start on Wednesday August 8th.

This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 25 July 2024.