Ballarat’s Kathryn Mitchell is Australia’s newest golden girl of track and field.
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The 35-year-old produced a world class performance to throw her way to a gold medal in the women’s javelin at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on Wednesday night.
Mitchell secured gold with her first throw of the competition – a new Australian, Oceania and Commonwealth Games record of 68.92 metres.
She also threw 68.14m with the fifth of her six attempts to dominate the event.
With the gold medal already secured, she made her last throw in tears.
She fouled, but it did not matter.
Mitchell was the Commonwealth Games champion.
The winning throw is the best in the world since 2013.
Kelsey-Lee Roberts made it one-two for Australia by picking up silver with a 63.89m throw. Bronze went to South African Sunette Viljoen (62.08m).
Competing in her fourth Commonwealth Games, Mitchell went to the Gold Coast as a hot favourite after twice breaking the Australian record this year and a career best 69.35m.
She had finished sixth in Melbourne in 2006, fifth in New Delhi in 2010 and fourth in Glasgow in 2014.
Born in Hamilton, Mitchell grew up and did her early schooling in Casterton before relocating to Ballarat to pursue her athletics career – initially as a runner.
She attended Ballarat High School and went onto study at Federation University.
The gold medal also follows sixth at the 2016 Rio Olympics and fifth at the 2013 Moscow world championships.
"Obviously you hope for this type of result and I've worked a lot this season trying not to focus too much on results and more on the process," Mitchell said.
"It's been working and it worked again tonight. It's a little bit unbelievable.”
“The paradox of sport is the less you focus on results the better the results come.
“That’s what I’ve tried to do this year. I put all the distances out of my mind,” she said.
FORMER Ballarat-based Victoria Mitchell finished ninth in the 3000m steeplechase on Wednesday night – the same position she filled at Glasgow four years ago.