Mickle Set for First International Competition of 2015
WAIS javelin thrower Kim Mickle is preparing for her first overseas meet of the 2015 season, with competition at the Shanghai Diamond League this Sunday.
Mickle has enjoyed an impressive campaign domestically to start 2015, highlighted by a 10th national championship title in March, which has secured her selection for this year’s World Championships that will also be held in China, in Beijing in August.
The Shanghai Diamond League will pit Mickle against a world class field that includes World Champion Christina Obergfall (Germany), Russian talent Mariya Abakumova – who boats a personal best of 71.99m and the only woman to have thrown further than Mickle in 2015, South African Sunette Viljoen.
Mickle told InsideWAIS earlier this year that the Shanghai Diamond League was a bonus competition for her, and one that she would not alter her training block for.
“I’m going to do Shanghai on May 17, but literally fly in and fly out and not even change my training regime. We do things in blocks, so Shanghai is literally a bonus, I’ll go up compete, come back, and stick with my block of work,” she said.
As such, the level of expectation on Mickle is not set on distance, but rather finding some consistency and having the opportunity to roll her arm in competition mode as she builds towards August’s championships.
The Shanghai journey is one of three Diamond League meets Mickle is scheduled for as she banks on a largely Perth based build up to Worlds.
“From the end of July through to mid August, I’ll be home again. And that’s the important bit, me coming home for those three weeks before a major, because in years prior, I tended to get really stale by the major champs because I’d been away from home for so long and away from my routine.
For more info on Kim Mickle’s 2015 plans, follow the links to access the three-part feature on the dual WAIS Athlete of the Year: