Walsh backs up in Poland
Tom Walsh can seemingly do no wrong in the wake of his Rio Olympic bronze medal.
Just a day after smashing out the best throw of his life with a careerbest national record of 22.00m to win the Diamond League men’s shot put competition in Paris, the pride of South Canterbury has repeated the dose in Poland.
The 24-year-old part-time builder form Christchurch rained on the parade of Polish veteran and twotime Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski in the Skolimowska Memorial meet in Warsaw.
With the competition billed as Majewski’s farewell from the sport after a glittering career, it was Walsh who stepped up to own the occasion. The burly Kiwi prevailed with a best throw of 21.48 metres, achieved with his final throw of the competition.
Majewski had looked headed for a memorable farewell victory when he took the competition lead with his second-round, season-best effort of 21.08m.
But Walsh, who followed a solid opening effort of 20.92m with four straight no-throws, had the final say when he blasted his final attempt out to that competition-winning 21.48m. Poland’s Konrad Bukowiecki ws third with 20.82m, while well-performed American Ryan Whiting could manage just fifth with 20.71m
Walsh’s Polish success followed his huge national and Oceania record throw in Paris just 24 hours earlier when he nudged out recently crowned Olympic champion Ryan Crouser by just 1cm. That saw him leapfrog American Joe Kovacs to take the lead in the Diamond League race by four points, with one meet remaining.
The Kiwi stands to claim the $US10,000 cash prize for winning the race if he can hold on to the lead at the final event in Zurich.
Walsh surpassed his previous best marks outdoor (21.62m) and indoor (21.78m) in Paris, and also eclipsed the meeting record of Swiss great Werner Gunthor which had stood for 24 years.
He said the record throw in Paris had been a welcome bonus as a memorable season drew to a close.
‘‘I knew I was in a good shape but I didn’t really except to throw so far. After Rio, I had something to prove. The stadium, the fans, everything was perfect.’’
At the Rio Games, Crouser won a memorable gold with an Olympic record throw of 22.52m. Walsh was third behind Kovacs (21.78m) with a best throw of 21.36m.