Perfect preparation
Australia’s men’s hockey team completed a perfect Commonwealth Games preparation by beating arch-rivals England 2-1 in the final to win the six-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Malaysia. After a scoreless first half, the Kookaburras took the lead when Blake Govers fired home from a penalty corner on 38 minutes. Lachlan Sharp scored in the last quarter to double the Aussies’ advantage but England responded just a minute later through Sam Ward to ensure a tight finish.
Tom Walsh is feeling bigger, better, faster and stronger than ever before with his sights firmly set on winning his first Commonwealth Games gold medal.
The Cantabrian had no trouble throwing for his ninth national title in the men’s shot put in Hamilton yesterday, but did admit to feeling the strain from travel after competing just a week after celebrating another global title with a personal best of 22.31m at the world indoor championships in Birmingham.
Jet lag doesn’t seem to fluster Walsh, though, and the reigning world champion said to ‘‘expect big things in the next six months’’ as a busy block of shot put events in the coming weeks started with the national track and field championships at Porritt Stadium.
Walsh, 26, has three things to tick off his checklist and he feels in great form to notch his first Commonwealth Games title on the Gold Coast in April.
‘‘It’s one thing I don’t have,’’ he said. ‘‘I haven’t been named number one in the world, I haven’t got an Olympic gold, and I haven’t got a Commonwealth gold.
‘‘I feel like I’m throwing in the right direction. I’m bigger, faster and stronger than I’ve ever been.
‘‘My squat went up 20kg, my dead lift went up 40kg, my bench press went up 10kg, my vertical jump has gone up, and my throwing is going up.
‘‘I’ve got all this horsepower and I’m working on how to use it.’’
Walsh naturally mixes his training with gymnastics and said he recently landed his first back flip while trampolining.
‘‘I’m not the best at gymnastics but it pushes you outside your comfort zone.
‘‘Throwing around 23 metres is not going to be comfortable, so that’s what it’s all about,’’ Walsh said.
Walsh’s best throw in Hamilton was 21.58m, bettering the record he set in last year’s national championships by 7cm, with young guns Ryan Ballantyne (17.03m) and Nick Palmer (16.49m) finishing second and third respectively.
But he knows he will have to throw further when the Athletics New Zealand International Series begins in his hometown of Timaru on Wednesday.
The six-strong field in the men’s shot put series - that is being labelled as the strongest shot put field ever assembled in New Zealand - are all top 16 finishers from Birmingham.
The three-leg series starts with the Timaru Super Shot before The Big Shot in central Christchurch on March 16 and the final leg at Waitakere in the Sir Graeme Douglas International Track Challenge on March 25.
In yesterday’s other events, Tauranga sprinter Joseph Millar eased to victory for his fourth national title in the men’s 200m with a winning time of 21.31sec. Tasman’s Lucy Sheat won the women’s event in 24.19sec.
Olivia McTaggart will be battling to be fit in time for her first Commonwealth Games after missing yesterday’s competition because the 18-year-old injured her ankle when warming up, so Imogen Ayris won her first national women’s title with 4.15m.
Ben Langton Burnell regained the national men’s javelin title with 73.18m, beating Stuart Farquhar (66.92m) in second.
Cameron French won the men’s 400m hurdles in 51.84sec and Nick Southgate won the men’s pole vault with 5.20m.
‘‘I feel like I’m throwing in the right direction. I’m bigger, faster and stronger than I’ve ever been.’’
Kiwi shot put star Tom Walsh