More to Come for in Form Mickle
Western Australian Institute of Sport athlete Kim Mickle has claimed second place in the women’s javelin with a throw of 63.80m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, USA.
Second overall behind current world leader Christina Obergfoll (GER, first, 67.70m), Mickle’s impressive mark delivered a second consecutive podium finish after she hurled a season best 63.93m at Round 3 of IAAF Diamond League in New York last weekend.
Heading home with Diamond Race points banked and two consistent meets during an 11 day US tour, Mickle admitted she was very pleased with her form.
“It’s a great start to the international season. My goal will always be to throw a personal best and improve myself but to come away with three Diamond Race points from two meets is a good opener,” Mickle said.
“All the girls out there today were saying ‘wow, you are in second’ but to me that meant nothing. I was just happy to see consistent good throwing because being able to do that all year round will be better when I get to Moscow than lots of series that have a one hit wonder big mark.
“Today was by the best competition I have had in terms of consistency. My manager has told me that throwing this way puts me in a good position for entry to strong competitions before World Championships which is great and I am determined to keep on improving across the year”
Mickle once again enjoyed a consistent series that included only one foul, with the eight-time national champion also throwing 58.85m, 61.12m, 62.71m, 63.54m and her best mark of 63.80m. Her three best throws were beyond the IAAF World Championships A-Qualifying mark of 62.00m.
Highlighting her notable form of late, Mickle’s results from the two IAAF Diamond League events in America this past fortnight rank as her second and fourth best ever. Additionally, she earned herself automatic selection to the Australian Flame team in April thanks to winning the Australian title with an A-Qualifying mark of 62.26m just weeks after a 62.53m hurl at the Sydney Track Classic.
“The conditions were trickier than it probably looked. We had a big head wind and if you missed the throw it would go nowhere and you can see that in some of the results for the other girls,” Mickle added
“I have been working very hard with my coachGrant(WAIS coach Grant Ward) on hitting a low point of release to ensure far throws all the time. Today is the first time I have been able to execute it across the every round. It wasn’t as good as I want it to be later in the year but with some more work at home it will keep getting better.”
Mickle now has three points for second overall in the Diamond Race for the women’s javelin. She will return to her base in Perth in the coming days, before building towards Moscow with likely competition at IAAF Diamond League events in Paris and London.
– Athletics Australia