Fit and healthy Willis inspired by Walsh's world title

Tom Walsh’s world title has inspired Nick Willis to nab his own longawaited medal at the athletics world championships.

New Zealand’s leading 1500m runner arrived in London with a renewed sense of belief after a twoweek training block in Italy.

Walsh became New Zealand’s first male medallist at a world champs when he won the shot put title this week. Willis said the way Walsh dealt with a tough field was motivating.

“There’s this thing that I’ve had over the years at championships — when another Kiwi does really well, it motivates and inspires me. It’s like ‘gosh, if they can do it, then I better do it as well’.

“I read an article where he [Walsh] said he can’t worry about what his competitors are doing, so that example is a reminder to the times when I’ve had success and it has come from having that same sort of mindset. I have to focus on what I can do and not consider the other variables.”

A variable on the mind of many athletes in London is an outbreak of a gastro virus. At least 30 athletes and staff have been affected. Athletics New Zealand believe the virus has not spread to its hotel. Willis says apart from avoiding sick people in lifts and hallways, there’s not much you can do.

“I don’t seem to have picked anything up,” he says.

The 34-year-old has a mix of apprehension and anticipation ahead of his first run inside London’s Olympic Stadium tomorrow [NZT].

After originally counting himself out of contention due to an injury delaying the start of his season, Willis is now hoping for big things.

“My coach Ron Warhurst and I have set up a couple of workouts over the years that are meant to give us a good indication as to how well I am tracking leading in to a big event.

“I was expecting to be at least two or three seconds off, but hopefully still on the up, and then I crossed the finish line on the final 1000m rep of my workout the other night and my brother, who was holding the stopwatch, went ‘wooh!’

“And I said ‘gosh, does that mean have I run a 2:24?’ And he turned to me and told me that I’ve done a 2:22, and that was basically what I ran 10 days before finishing third in Rio and the exact same time before I ran my 3:29 in Monaco a few years ago.

“It shows that I’m now starting to enter into that zone that I have in the past which is my top form.”