Kiwi Millar misses out in 100m as Bolt looks shaky

If Tom Walsh was feeling weighed down by his shot at history at the world athletics championships, he certainly did not show it during qualifying.

The Kiwi shot putter, bidding to become the first New Zealand male to medal at the global event, booked his place in the final with his first attempt in London last night.

Up fourth in the 32-strong field, Walsh topped the standings with a spectacular throw of 22.14m, the best qualification effort in any competition, and second to the championship record of 22.23m achieved by Switzerland’s Werner Gunthor in 1987.

Walsh, the New Zealand team captain, was the only man to break the 22m barrier, finishing 73cm ahead of German David Storl in second, smashing the automatic qualification mark of 20.75m.

The 25-year-old Timaru athlete eclipsed his previous season best by 10cm and was just 7cm shy of his personal best, set in Croatia last year.

Walsh will be joined in tomorrow morning’s final (NZ time) by compatriot Jacko Gill, who also qualified with his first attempt of 20.96m.

It was an impressive display by Gill, 22, who recorded the fifth-best throw behind Storl (21.41m), Poland’s Michal Haratyk (21.27m) and American Darrell Hill (21.11m).

Surprisingly, Rio Olympic gold medallist Ryan Crouser and defending world champion Joe Kovacs were only good enough for sixth and 10th respectively.

The formidable American duo have been untouchable in 2017, owning eight of the best winning throws between them.

But while gold medal favourite Crouser managed to advance with his first throw of 20.90m, Kovacs was well off his game as he failed to pass the automatic qualification mark. However, his second attempt of 20.67m ensured the 28-year-old progressed as one of the top 12 performers.

With a season best throw of 22.65m for Crouser, and 22.57m for Kovacs, they remain the men to beat in the final. But Walsh can rest easy knowing he is well on the way to replicating his bronze medal in Rio and etching his name into the history books.

Meanwhile, Kiwi sprinter Joseph Millar finished fifth in the fourth of six heats of the 100m, after earlier winning through from the preliminary round. The Aucklander said he was ‘‘not quite happy’’ with his time of 10.31s but lapped up an experience he called ‘‘a childhood dream come true’’.