NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Athletics

Athletics: Years of hard training brings rising shot star closer to what he desires most

Chris Rattue
By Chris Rattue
Sports Writer·NZ Herald·
17 Jan, 2014 04:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Both of Tom Walsh's parents encouraged him into sport - his father was a junior shot titleholder and rep rugby player and his mother was a skilled high jumper.

Both of Tom Walsh's parents encouraged him into sport - his father was a junior shot titleholder and rep rugby player and his mother was a skilled high jumper.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rising shot put star Tom Walsh has eclipsed Jacko Gill's national record and now wants to square off against the Devonport Dynamo.

The 22-year-old Walsh, Timaru-raised and Christchurch-domiciled, has a long-term plan to be the best shot putter in the world. He still works as a builder so the Herald chatted to him during a lunch break.

Those performances in Australia suggest you are on track ...

I wanted anything over the world indoor qualifying mark of 20.30m so 20.61 blew it out of the water. It changed things slightly - I don't have the pressure on to meet qualifying marks and it has increased the expectations of how far I can throw a wee bit. All the training over the past three or four years is starting to pay off. People think it is a sudden improvement but I like to think it's been waiting to happen.

Shot put throwers of old were huge blokes but Jacko relies heavily on speed - how about you?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Some guys have strength-based techniques - usually the Americans, who are very strong. Then you have me and Jacko in a group more based on speed. But we look completely different the way we do it.

When did you last face off in competition?

Using the same weight ... probably at the world juniors Jacko won in 2010. It would be great for the sport if we competed against each other a lot more. But he only competes a few times a year which makes it hard - that's just the way it works for him. Most of us throw up to 20 times a year. I hope he comes down for the international meeting on February 22, but otherwise we should meet at the nationals in March.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Finding a top sports person with a regular job is rare ...

I'm not a top sports person yet. I work three days a week, 27 hours, and train the rest of the time. As soon as I get enough money to live off my sport, it might change. But it's going good at the moment and keeps a good balance. I'm not thinking about shot all the time - it's the last thing the other blokes want to talk about. I work for Mike Greer Homes, the biggest residential firm in Christchurch. I'm very lucky to have him letting me do what I do and he also sponsors me.

What is your sporting pedigree?

My father [Peter] won a New Zealand [junior] shot put title in the 1960s. He also played prop for South Canterbury and was in the team which won the Ranfurly Shield in the 1970s. My mother injured her back badly in a high-jump accident ... they were keen on sport and encouraged us to play as many as possible. My brother Bill plays cricket for Grafton and is one of the highest runs scorer in Auckland at the moment.

Discover more

Olympics

Funding increase for successful sports

17 Dec 10:31 PM
Opinion

Contests to savour or dread

27 Dec 10:18 PM
Athletics

Athletics: Rivalry will be one to treasure

11 Jan 09:50 PM

We hear you were a crack junior cricketer who could bowl quickly ...

I was an all-rounder in age group for Canterbury and won three national titles. I played with Tom Latham, Corey Anderson, against Jimmy Neesham and Adam Milne. He was not as quick back then ... around the 135km/h mark but it still kept a young fella on his toes. I might have been around the 125km/h mark and tried to hit the ball a wee way although it didn't always work.

Childhood heroes?

Chris Cairns back then. I liked Jerry Collins because he was hard nosed. I also looked up to Val Adams when she came through.

Is there anything you would change in your sport?

We need to take it more to the people. Overseas, they do competitions in the street. I'm trying to get the ball rolling with that but it is hard to get help.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Who would be your three favourite dinner guests?

Billy Connolly, Shane Warne, Beyonce.

What's the best advice you've received?

My coach in Timaru, Ian Baird, says things like "don't push the river, it will flow by itself" meaning even though I'm young and want to be at the top, it takes time. He also says there are many roads to Rome - Jacko might do it one way and I might do it another. Who is to say which is right?

Hobbies?

I regard building as a hobby - I really enjoy it. I also do a bit of work for the old man on the farm.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Career highlight?

Throwing the New Zealand record of 20.61 in Melbourne.

Lowlight?

There are two. Falling 1cm short of world championships qualification in Europe last year - you wouldn't believe how much stress I put myself under. Another was a high in a way. When Jacko won the world junior title, I bombed out massively, throwing 17.50m when I was throwing 20m just 10 minutes earlier. I thought at the time I can't let a young buck from Auckland have an easy route to the top. It was a good effort from him, but it spurred me on. I also learned about taking care of the mental side because that is what buggered me up - I can get too uptight.

How do you fix that?

Trying to chill out ... various forms of meditation, listening to my breathing or just sitting there, listening to a bit of paper going by, or someone talking, or the wind. Sports psychologist John Quinn is a great guy who has helped me be the athlete I am today. I need to take my mind somewhere else completely.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Where would you like to be in 10 years' time?

Doing what I'm doing, maybe even still working part time in Christchurch to keep the mental side right. There's no reason why I can't be competing in 15 years' time.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Athletics

Sport|athletics

Arli Liberman: The art of scoring in sport

02 Jul 06:01 AM
Premium
New Zealand

Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

29 Jun 12:00 AM
Athletics

Hobbs breaks Oceania record once again, goes sub 11 seconds

24 Jun 07:14 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Athletics

Arli Liberman: The art of scoring in sport

Arli Liberman: The art of scoring in sport

02 Jul 06:01 AM

'I don’t score the images, I score the idea; the feeling, the heart'

Premium
Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

29 Jun 12:00 AM
Hobbs breaks Oceania record once again, goes sub 11 seconds

Hobbs breaks Oceania record once again, goes sub 11 seconds

24 Jun 07:14 PM
Olympic champ's father acquitted of abusing son

Olympic champ's father acquitted of abusing son

16 Jun 06:53 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP