Shots fired: Tom and Jacko put joking

It’s all smiles when New Zealand’s top two shot putters are together – but, writes Marc Hinton a decade’s worth of rivalry is pushing them to new limits.

Sometimes less is best. Or weaker is stronger. Incongruous as that sounds, it’s a recipe that appears to be reaping the rewards for in-form shot put exponent Jacko Gill.

For the second time in as many meets – and weeks – Gill out-threw his staunch Kiwi rival Tom Walsh for an emphatic victory, this time at Thursday’s Sir Graeme Douglas International meet in west Auckland. In the process, the 28-year-old broke the 22-metre threshold for the first time in his career, sending his opening throw out to a personal best of 22.12 metres – 22cm beyond his previous best mark of 21.90 set at last year’s Commonwealth Games, where he won silver behind Walsh.

It would appear that Gill, who was a sensation as a junior athlete, eating up world titles and records like he did chillis in social media video clips, is finally realising his potential in the senior ranks. And it looks set to spark an intriguing 17 months through to the Paris Olympics, and possibly beyond, as they jostle for spots on the podium at major events.

At SGD, Walsh, the dual Olympic bronze medallist and threetime world champion, managed a best of just 21.79m, also on his opening throw, and neither went near those marks later in the competition as the rain fell and made conditions tricky. You could see the frustration in Walsh’s fiery eyes as he sunk to a second successive defeat at Gill’s hands.

Less than a fortnight previous Gill had finally defeated Walsh at the national championships to snap a string of 13 consecutive senior titles for the Canterbury strongman. Again the victory was emphatic – a 55cm margin, as Gill threw 21.80m, Walsh 21.25m, and all five of the Aucklander’s counting throws were further than his rival’s best.

Walsh wasn’t supposed to compete at SGD, but after nationals decided to come north in search of redemption. He made no secret of that. The 31-year-old is nothing if not a competitor and after a decade of dominance over his younger rival this is an unusual, if not unprecedented, situation.

Adding further spice to a rivalry that has only really come alive over the last year or two is the fact that Gill is now coached by Walsh’s ex-mentor Dale Stevenson, and by all appearances the now Melbournebased guru is cajoling something special out of Gill. Stevenson told the Sunday Star-Times recently his new charge was on the verge of blasting past the 22-metre mark (prophetic words) and added: ‘‘I wouldn’t want to compete against Jacko right now. He’s getting his confidence and self-belief to a point where he can be a real threat, not just domestically, but globally.’’

The two big men made a big show of cosying up for the media in the wake of the SGD competition, shrugging off any suggestion there is anything antagonistic in their rivalry, and both lauding each other’s capabilities. But Walsh is a proud man, hates to lose and will be stung by a pair of failures that cut close to the bone.

It was interesting, too, to hear Gill speak about some key tweaks he’s made under Stevenson that are reaping the rewards in the throwing arena. The Aucklander bypassed the bulk of the domestic season – much to Walsh’s frustration

– but when he did appear it was in the finest fettle of his career.

And close to the weakest on the strength scale, would you believe. ‘‘It’s definitely all technique,’’ he said of his extra distance. ‘‘I’m not that strong at the moment. I’ve benched 250kg and at the moment I’m about 180. The strength is well down, and I’m really focusing on the technique and putting a lot more time into that side. That should help me throw further for a bit when I’m a bit older, so I like the approach.

‘‘For me it was always about patience. I was always throwing with my upper body, and now I’m trying to go more legs first, and it seems to have made a difference.’’

At this point Walsh, who is standing alongside, pipes up: