Shot putter Jacko Gill. Photo / Paul Estcourt
There is no stopping young shot put sensation Jacko Gill. In another explosive effort - this time at the Diamond League meeting in Sweden - Gill, 15, took his haul of world age-group records to five.
Competing in a hyped-up street arena in front of stands, Gill, going in with
a previous best of 20.88m (with the 5kg shot), threw 21.46m in qualifying and followed that with a winning 22.53m effort in the final to claim the world best marks for 15 and 16-year-olds. He also holds the record for 14-year-olds (with the 5kg shot) and the 15 and 16-year marks with a 6kg shot.
Gill, from Auckland's North Shore, burst into the headlines last month when he won the world junior (under-20) championship with a 20.76m effort which ranks ninth on the all-time list. He still has four years to claim that world record (with the 6kg shot).
He also has 2 years to claim the world youth record - officially recognised by the IAAF - and is confident of that as he is just 23cm shy of the current mark for under 18-year-olds.
In a call to his father Walter, Gill said he was beginning to tire but hoped to bounce back for the Youth Olympics in Singapore this month after a break and further training in France.
Belarussian Nadezdha Ostapchuk underlined her superiority over New Zealander Valerie Vili with an emphatic win in the shotput. It was the fifth time on end Vili, the world and Olympic champion, has lost to Ostapchuk this season.
The Belarussian's 20.63m was almost a metre clear of Vili's 19.79m, while Ostapchuk's compatriot, Natallia Mikhnevich, took third with 19.57m.
Ostapchuk tops the Diamond League points table, her 16 well clear of second-placed Vili's 12.
She ended Vili's 2-year winning streak at the world indoor championships at Qatar in March, and hasn't looked back since.
- Additional reporting NZPA
