NCAA Champion Barrios Takes First in Women’s Javelin at U23 Pan American Games
8/21/2025 1:45:00 PM | Track & Field
The senior’s result set the Pan American Games record.
LUQUE, Paraguay – University of Missouri track and field's Valentina Barrios took first place in women's javelin at the U23 Pan American Games with a throw of 60.16m (197-4) at Estadio de Atletismo on Monday.
Barrios, the 2025 NCAA Champion in the event, recorded her second-best javelin throw of her career with the result. She finished ahead of Georgia's Manuela Rotundo, who won the 2025 Southeastern Conference Championship in the event.
The senior now eyes the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, with her spot to represent Colombia and Mizzou in the event being determined on Sunday, August 24. Each country may send up to three representatives per event, provided they have either met the automatic qualifying standard set by World Athletics or earned a high enough world ranking. The women's javelin field is capped at 36, and Barrios currently stands 34th without her Pan American Games result factored into her score. Should her mark move stay in the top 36, she will secure an invitation to Tokyo.
The World Athletics Championships, staged every two years, stand as the most prestigious competition in track and field outside of the Olympic Games. The 2025 edition will take place September 13-21 in Tokyo, before moving to Beijing, China, in 2027.
Barrios' result continues her record-breaking summer. The Barranquilla, Colombia, native ended the 2025 NCAA outdoor track and field season with the first national championship in women's javelin in program history, recording a career-best throw of 62.00m (203-5) on her final attempt. She then took second place at the Colombian National Championships on August 1 with a result of 58.28m (191-2).
Barrios looks to join former Tiger Gabi Jacobs at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which will take place September 13-21. Jacobs, a 2019 graduate, placed third in the women's discus at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championship on August 1 with a throw of 63.33m (207-9). Her finish secured a spot on Team USA for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
Jacobs and two other athletes were able to represent Missouri with top three finishes at the North American, Central America and Caribbean Championship at Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Bahamas on August 15-17. Jacobs' 57.07m (187-0) mark in women's discus earned her a second place finish among the competition heading into the World Athletics Championships. Senior Euphenie Andre also claimed a second-place finish at the event in women's triple jump, recording a distance of 13.26m (43-5).
Jillian Weir, daughter of Mizzou's assistant coach Robert Weir, tallied a 69.08m (226-6) mark in women's hammer throw to take third.
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