Bruce now ranked No 6 in world
Hammer thrower Lauren Bruce has been given a big boost in her preparation for the scheduled Olympics in Tokyo later this year.
The South Canterbury Athletics Club member, who has been working out at Athletic New Zealand’s high performance centre in Christchurch alongside multiple world and Olympic Games shot put champion Valerie Adams, goes into 2021 with the highest 2020 ranking in the world for any Kiwi athlete.
Bruce, of Timaru before moving to Christchurch to further her career, was ranked No 6 in the world for 2020 after a 73.47 metre throw in September which eclipsed the national record held by Juliette Ratcliffe of 72.35m.
The 23-year-old’s throw also ranked her No 1 in the Commonwealth.
Since that big effort, Bruce felt she had improved.
‘‘All my [lifting] weights have gone up. I’ve got stronger and made some really good progress.’’
Bruce planned to start her domestic competition season at the end of the month.
‘‘The season is different this time round. We’ll be testing things to see where we’re at but will keep work volumes up.’’
Six to seven competitions have been lined up taking Bruce through to the New Zealand championships at the beginning of
March, but after that things were more uncertain due to Covid-19 restrictions.
‘‘It depends on what happens with Australia, hopefully we’ll be heading to the Gold Coast in June.’’
Bruce said it was nice to have Adams training alongside her.
‘‘She’s [Adams] been doing three weeks with us here in Christchurch and one week at home in Auckland, and she’s committed to train with us through to Tokyo.
‘‘It’s a big move for her; not many would take a call like that.’’
Meanwhile Tom Walsh, the former world champion, and Commonwealth champion and Olympic bronze medallist, had a quiet year in 2020 by his standards, finishing eighth ranked in the men’s shot put with 21.70m. This was his first time out of the top four since 2013.