With his third pitch of the round, Barber literally put his stake into the ground and no one could get close.
It looked like Australia might have two women on the podium with Mackenzie Little in medal position going into the final round, but she slipped back to fifth.
Little, a 25-year-old medical student from Sydney who was a finalist at the Tokyo Olympics last year, opened the competition with the throw of her life. When it mattered, Little shot big.
Mackenzie Little finished fifth. Credit: Getty Images
He set the standard with an impressive opening throw of 63.22m, the biggest of his life when he needed it. This put her in the lead for several rounds.
Barber responded with a solid 62.67m for his first effort and set the stage for Australia to take gold and silver for the first time in the only event at a world athletics championship.
loading
For Barber, it was a welcome change from his recent championship wins, where he left everything behind to do his best. In Tokyo, when he won silver, and in Doha, with his gold throw, it was his last throws that won medals. Here, he got off to a solid start and built from there.
She threw bigger on her third pitch and allowed herself a chance to rest and go through more pitches, sure she had done enough.
Little struggled in qualifying with a modest throw of 59m, leaving her waiting to see if she was able to qualify for the final.