Tom Walsh claimed bronze in the men's shot put. Photo / Getty Images
Tom Walsh claimed bronze in the men's shot put. Photo / Getty Images
Tom Walsh has gone from the edge of elimination to the Olympic podium once again.
The Kiwi this afternoon claimed a second straight bronze medal in the shot put as the top three from Rio all repeated their achievements in Tokyo.
Third place completed a dramatic reversal of fortunes forWalsh, whose Olympic dream appeared to have ended in heartbreak during Tuesday night's qualification.
But having eventually had his third and pivotal qualifying effort counted - after an initial foul was successfully reviewed, Walsh joked that it took years off his life - the 29-year-old enjoyed a much happier final at Olympic Stadium.
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"It feels awesome," said Walsh, holding back tears. "The last 18 months, for everyone, it hasn't been easy. And to be standing here now with the flag on my back, it's pretty cool."
His evident pride was understandable, given Walsh's mark of 22.47m improved on his bronze-medal performance in Rio by 1.11m. Unfortunately for the Kiwi, though, no one in the 12-man showpiece looked capable of catching world record holder and defending champion Ryan Crouser.
Five of the American's six throws would have been good enough for gold, with the official winning mark of 23.30m coming from a triumphant final effort.
Walsh was left to duel for silver with another American, Joe Kovacs, who separated himself with a fourth attempt of 22.65m. But Walsh was more than content with a season-best final distance - 59cm clear of fourth place - and a bronze medal.
"I stayed in the fight," he said. "I felt at home out there, which was a really nice feeling to have again, because it's been quite a long time since I've had that."
Tom Walsh in action of the final of the men's shot put on Thursday. Photo / Getty Images
He certainly didn't feel that way during his tumultuous qualification and Walsh must have been pleased today to just see the white flag after his first throw, a warm-up distance of 21.09m.
Crouser's opening effort, on the other hand, was sent with some ease to an Olympic-record 22.83m. The favourite broke that mark twice more and in the end fell only 7cm short of his own world record, leaving Kovacs and Walsh to play catch-up.
"The difference between 22.50 and 23-something, it's so small - the tiny details that Ryan's getting right and Joe and I aren't quite," Walsh said. "But we do the sport to push and chase and try to find those little bits and pieces. We're not far away.
"We did push Ryan and both of us wanted a different colour medal but I'm happy with how I performed, the distance, and I guess the outcome.
"For sure, a gold would feel much better, but I gave myself a chance."
Tom Walsh claimed bronze in the men's shot put. Photo / Getty Images
That chance began with a strong second throw of 22.17m, with Walsh raising his arms and yelling "Tommy's coming!" as he left the circle.
He saw the dreaded red flag after his third attempt, however, and gave the impression his personal best of 22.90m might have been beyond him.
But Walsh still had one big roar left and, although Kovacs had solidified his hold on silver, the Kiwi saved his best for last.
His achievement was cheered on in the stands by Valerie Adams and Maddison-Lee Wesche, and like the women's final New Zealand again had dual representation in one of athletics' premier events.
But while Walsh matched Adams with bronze, Jacko Gill couldn't quite replicate Wesche's sixth place as he recorded a best distance of 20.71m to finish ninth for the second straight Olympics.
"I had expectations of a medal, I just didn't do enough," Gill said. "Hopefully I'll get to that stage sometime soon."
