Japanese javelin thrower breaks Colombian hearts as she unleashes winning effort in the final round at the World Champs in Budapest on Friday

As a child, Haruka Kitaguchi was told during swimming lessons that she had poor coordination. Her legs and arms did not move in harmony and even when she took up javelin she was warned she was out of sync.

But she began to be coached by Czech Republic javelin guru David Sekerak with additional input from a professor of applied anatomy at the University of Tsukuba called Kazutaka Adachi.

She slowed down her run-up speed slightly, began to achieve more co-ordination and on Friday night in Budapest it came together with a 66.73m throw to win gold.

Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado of Colombia had led with a 65.47m South American record from the first round. But Kitaguchi, 25, waited until the sixth round to unleash her winning effort after previously being in fourth place with a best of 63.00m after five rounds.

There is something about final round winning efforts at these championships, too, as we have seen similar feats in the mens discus and long jump and womens triple jump.

In third, Mackenzie Little threw 63.38m, but her Australian team-mate, Kelsey-Lee Barber, the 2019 and 2022 world champion, was seventh with 61.19m.

Javelin throw is not a very popular event in Japan but I think it is becoming more and more popular, said the winner, who took bronze 12 months ago in Eugene. Before, nobody knew about this event but now when I got gold, I think it will be more popular.

Hurtado, 32, said: I have been training so hard for this throughout the whole season. I was nervous all the time, battling anxiety, but now I have learned to control it and that was enough for a silver. I also jumped a personal best with this throw today. I am truly without words.

Little said: It was so much fun, really the best competition. I had a blast. I came into this ranked high so it was a new challenge to have expectations on the world stage. But I have so much support. Now I just cant wait for more.