Athletics: US champ breaks Kiwi's shot put record

Kiwi shot put champion Tom Walsh. Photo / Greg Bowker

World indoor champion, Ryan Whiting of the USA, broke Kiwi Tom Walsh's New Zealand allcomers shot put record at a meeting in Christchurch tonight.

Whiting threw over the 20.79m mark twice to win the competition with an official distance of 21.03m. Walsh was second with a best throw of 19.99m, followed by Australian Damian Birkinhead with 19.55m.

Whiting has won the last two world indoor championships, most recently in Poland in March 2014, an event which was Walsh's international breakthrough when he took a surprise bronze medal.

The 27-year-old American successfully defended the title he first won in Istanbul in 2012 and also claimed silver in the 2013 world championships in Moscow.