There were a few surprises in the javelin. Defending champion Kelsey-Lee Barber barely made the final. Her final throw of the preliminary round getting the 12th spot. Later, her third throw in the finals barely reached 8th place and she wouldn't get any further luck.
Veteran Flor Ruiz's season best was 61.83m, dating back to March. Her personal best of 63.84m dated back to 2016. In the first round of the final, she launched a South American record 65.47 m (214 ft 9 in). Only returning bronze medalist/world leader Haruka Kitaguchi, 61.78m and Olympic gold medalist Liu Shiying 61.66m, were able to get over 60 meters. Victoria Hudson threw 62.14m to start the second round, and Kitaguchi improved to 61.99m. Kitaguchi's third round effort of 63.00m put her into silver position. In the fourth round, Anete Kociņa moved into silver position with a 63.18m. Then in the final round Mackenzie Little jumped into the silver position with a 63.38m dropping Kitaguchi out of the medals. But Kitaguchi still had her last attempt and she used it to throw 66.73 m (218 ft 11 in) to leapfrog into the gold medal.
Records
Before the competition records were as follows:[1]