Winger reaches javelin finals at World Championships

Kara Winger continued a strong finish to her professional javelin career, qualifying for the finals at the World Athletics Championships on Wednesday in Eugene, Ore.

Winger placed fourth in qualifying at the culminating event of her final season. The Skyview High School graduate threw her best mark of 60.30 meters (197 feet, 10 inches) on the second of her three attempts at Hayward Field.

The top 12 throwers advanced to the finals on Friday. Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan threw the best mark in qualifying (64.32 meters).

Winger’s final World Championships comes roughly a month after she won her ninth national title, also at Hayward Field. There, on her last throw, she launched a season-best toss of 64.26 meters (210 feet, 10 inches) to achieve the automatic qualification standard for the World Championships.

“I’ve never not thrown the standard at worlds, so that feels really good,” Winger said after that event. “It’s just icing on the cake. It put the real nail in the coffin to make this team (for worlds). … This is my 10th outdoor national team, and to throw the standard every time for a really long time is very cool.”

Winger has competed in eight World Championships and has now reached the finals in three. She placed fifth in 2019 and eighth in 2015.