Born in East London, South Africa, Barber's family moved to Australia in 2000.[4] It was this relocation that setup the career of Barber.
Barber arrived in Australia during the Sydney Olympics and lived in Corryong in Victoria. Her uncle and aunt owned a dairy farm and she competed in athletics at the school carnival. She was so successful that she progressed in discus competitions through the zone and regional carnivals. She moved from Corryong to Canberra in 2007 and started taking athletics more seriously. She trained with a coach and at age 17 won the javelin at the Pacific School Games in Canberra.[5]
She married her coach Mike Barber after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[6]
Career
Barber made her international debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, finishing third with 62.95 m. She competed at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing without qualifying for the final. A back injury in early 2016 disrupted her preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics and she finished 28th in qualifying.[7]
Barber had a breakthrough season in 2017. She produced three consecutive personal bests in competitions in Turku, Lausanne and London. At the World Championships, she qualified automatically for the final and finished 10th. She finished the season with a silver medal at the Diamond League Final in Zurich and another personal best of 64.53 m.[3]
In 2018, she placed second at the national titles behind Kathryn Mitchell. Barber threw a new personal best of 64.57 m at the Queensland International Track Classic in Brisbane on 28 March. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games Barber received a silver medal with a 63.89 m throw.[8]
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Barber won a gold medal in javelin, making her the first woman to ever retain the women's World Championships javelin title.[13] Later that year, she also won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 64.43m.
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