Nick Palmer, of Karamu High School, shows potential to do bigger things on the global stage. Photo/file
"Nick said he would do it and he's done it ... he's top of the world."
These were the words of Bob Palmer, the proud dad of Hawke's Bay shot putter Nick Palmer, as he relayed the news of his son's world-leading feat last night. A week after winning the
New Zealand Secondary Schools title in Hastings, Palmer, 17, threw 21.27m when he won the under-18 title at the South Island championships in Timaru on Saturday.
"It's been a huge year for Nick and this throw ticked his final box," Palmer snr said.
The Karamu High School pupil's Timaru throw beat the year's previous under-18 world-best effort for a 5kg weight of 20.99m, recorded by an Indian rival.
"It's not an overall world record but it's definitely a world record in terms of this year's rankings," Palmer explained.
