Mickle Third at Rome Diamond League

WAIS athlete and IAAF World Championships silver medallist Kim Mickle (WA) has placed third in the women’s javelin at Round 4 of the IAAF Diamond League in Rome (ITA).

Joined in the Italian capital by Sally Pearson (Qld), who withdrew late from the 100m hurdles, Mickle’s best mark of 63.05m in the fourth round delivers a second consecutive podium finish as part of the illustrious 14-meet series for the new Australian record holder, after she was second best in Doha (QAT) last month.

Opening her series with a 60.07m throw, Mickle threw 59.81m in the second round before a foul and her biggest mark in round four. She backed up her 63.05m throw with a 61.67m effort in the penultimate round before a foul to close out her series.

The javelin-throwing powerhouse of Barbora Spotakova (CZE) won the event with a second round attempt of 66.43m, with Martina Ratej (SLO, 63.12) the next best.

Mickle will now return to Australia for another block of training at her base in Perth (WA) before returning to Europe for further Diamond League competition in Lausanne (SUI) on 3 July and Monaco (MON) on 18 July. She will then descend on the Athletics Australia Team Camp for the Commonwealth Games, where she will be joined by her fellow women’s javelin starters for Glasgow 2014 in Kathryn Mitchell (Vic) and Kelsey-Lee Roberts (ACT).

Scheduled to compete in the women’s 100m hurdles, the Olympic champion Pearson was a late scratching and she watched the IAAF World Championships gold medallist Brianna Rollins (USA) take victory from the sideline in a world leading time of 12.53 (w: +0.5).

Pearson’s decision to not start was a precaution taken by the Australian 100m hurdles record holder after her recent history with hamstring injuries, and she will now focus on readying herself for the IAAF Diamond League event in New York (USA) next weekend.

WAIS athlete Liz Parnov will also compete in New York in the women’s pole vault.

-AthleticsAustralia