Mickle’s Reaction to Worlds Progress

Western Australian Institute of Sport athlete Kim Mickle has given a unique insight into her preparation for the women’s javelin competition in Daegu, which has yielded her a spot in tomorrow evening’s final.

Mickle entered the competition in the knowledge that six girls from Group A had sealed the automatic qualifying mark of 61.00m. Sporting a straw hat with a smileyface drawn on, it wasn’t long before the Commonwealth Games silver medallist was wearing her own smile after she laid down an impressive marker with a first throw of 60.50m.

It was a heave Mickle was unable to better, but was enough to rank her eighth overall and more importantly take her into tomorrow evening’s final.

Speaking after her qualification, Mickle explained the curious outfit she adopted for the competition. “I went shopping yesterday and just knew what it was going to be like outside. When I saw that I was in the second pot I knew the shade would disappear. So I just thought ‘look, I’m going to look stupid but I think getting the sun off me is probably a good idea for tomorrow,” Mickle said.

Mickle’s sunsmart approach paid dividends as she threw over 60m on her first attempt and was able to begin her focus towards the final.

“Everything’s there in the making which is great,” she explained. “60.50m on my first throw I thought was probably going to be enough, so after that I was just coasting through and wasn’t trying to give it all.”

“I was just being out there to be out there, in case I needed to pop something out so the last two were more training throws than comps throws.”

-with Athletics Australia