Commonwealth Games: Stadium side with Tom Walsh

Gold medalist Tom Walsh celebrates during the medal ceremony for the Men's Shot Put. Photo / Getty Images

Tom Walsh won a gold medal in the men's shot put at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, backing up his impressive bronze medal-winning performance at the Rio Olympics 18 months ago.

The Timaru-product is the reigning world champion having won that title in 2017 while he is the New Zealand and Oceania record holder as well.

But it didn't all come easy for the likeable Walsh. In his formative years the 26-year-old battled Aucklander Jacko Gill in a rivalry that would run throughout the age groups and into senior competition. While the two have a healthy relationship with each other there has always been an intense drive to beat each other at the same time.

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Walsh sat down with the Herald to discuss how a couple of early losses to Gill helped inspire him to be better. He explains how a missed opportunity on a big stage led him to work on his mental edge and that has helped deliver him some of the biggest successes any Kiwi athlete has experienced over the past few years.

For an explosive power discipline like shot put there is a feeling that you get when you get a throw away perfectly and Walsh describes what that feels like.

The former builder is now living his dream, traveling the world as a professional athlete but he's smart enough to look back to see what helped him reach his goals.