I had by no means the ideal preparation for Rio,” explains the articulate and personable Barber. “I had delivered a childhood dream to qualify (for the Olympics) but until you are in that environment your realise that the medallists are only a very small portion of what happens at an Olympics. Surrounded by many athletes who did not achieve medals caught me off guard.”
However, the positive and upbeat Barber did not stay down for long. By the time she returned to Australia the 1.75m tall thrower set about the re-building phase for the next stage of her career and put together a plan to avoid a repeat performance at the Tokyo