Homeboy: Gill happy to build up to Olympics back here
National shot put champion Jacko Gill will take a low-key approach in his build-up to this year’s Olympics.
While a lot of New Zealand’s top athletes will be heading north to compete in meets in North America and Europe, Gill will instead concentrate on training, rather than competing.
Gill beat Tom Walsh to defend his title at the national championships in Wellington over the weekend.
Both athletes weren’t at their best, but that’s not surprising, just two weeks after competing at the World Indoor Championships where Walsh finished second and Gill fifth.
“I got a little lucky; it has been a long season for us with the travel,” Gill said after his victory. “I’ve been throwing well around 22 metres but I’ve just kind of dropped off after World Indoors.”
Gill will celebrate with a few days’ rest in Russell before getting back into training at his Auckland base.
“I’ll probably go to Europe in early July, I just like being in New Zealand so I probably won’t go to Europe that early,” he told RNZ.
The 29-year-old says he might compete in the Oceania Championships in Fiji in June, but otherwise he’ll stay close to home.
“It’s a lot of travel and I have such a good set-up at home that it’s kind of hard to leave.
“Just travelling and potentially being alone for a while is just tough.”
Gill has always credited his family for getting him into a positive place in his career.
Travelling and potentially being alone for a while is just tough. Jacko Gill
He says he prefers less competition leading into a big event.
“I do, it helps, you get up for it a lot and then you have that comedown.
“Whereas I think that a consistent build-up, week after week, just seems to suit my technique and the way I throw.”
Gill is one of nine New Zealand track and field athletes to have gained an automatic qualifying mark for the Paris Olympics.
He is a former world junior champion and finished ninth at both the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics.