 Walsh in 2016, after winning gold at the World Indoor Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Tomas Walsh |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Born | (1992-03-01)1 March 1992 (age 33) Timaru, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] |
| Weight | 120 kg (265 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Track and field |
Event | Shot put |
| Club | South Canterbury Athletic Club |
| Coached by | Ian Baird |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest(s) | 22.90 m (outdoor) 22.31 m (indoor) (CR) |
Medal record | |
Tomas Walsh (born 1 March 1992)[1] is a New Zealandathlete who competes mainly in theshot put.[2] He is the currentnational record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event.[3][4] His personal best of 22.90 m (75 ft1+1⁄2 in), set inDoha, 5 October 2019, is also theOceanian record and makes him the seventh best shot putter in history.
Walsh was the bronze medallist at the2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, the silver medallist at the2014 Commonwealth Games, 4th at the2015 World Championships in Athletics, winner of the2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, the bronze medallist at the2016 Summer Olympics, the gold medallist at the2017 World Championships and the bronze medallist at the2019 World Championships,2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships and the2020 Summer Olympics, and gold medallist at the2022 Commonwealth Games.
Walsh made his international debut at the2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics, where he placed sixth in the shot put and also competed in the qualifying of thediscus throw.[5] On 12 December 2009 Walsh threw 20.21 m (66 ft3+1⁄2 in) with the 5 kg shot to win the Senior Boys title at the New Zealand National Secondary School Track and Field Championships. This performance was a New Zealand Youth (Under 18) record, which was broken the following day byJacko Gill when winning the Junior Boys (Under 16) title.
Walsh broke the New Zealand junior record on 18 March 2010 with a put of 18.82 m (61 ft8+3⁄4 in) with the 6 kg shot but this was broken 9 days later by Gill with 19.92 m (65 ft4+1⁄4 in). At the2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics Walsh failed to qualify for the final of the shot put which was won by Gill.[6][7][8]
In 2012 Walsh won his first senior national shot put title which he retained the following season and also added the discus title. On 12 December 2013 Walsh broke Gill'sNew Zealand senior shot put record with 20.61 m (67 ft7+1⁄4 in) inMelbourne,Australia[9] which he improved with 21.16 m (69 ft 5 in) on 22 March 2014, also in Melbourne.[10]
At the2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, in his first senior international competition and first ever competition indoors,[11] Walsh finished third in themen's shot put.[12] He set an indoor national record of 20.41 m (66 ft11+1⁄2 in) in the qualifying round and improved upon this mark three times in the final finishing with 21.26 m (69 ft 9 in) which was anOceanian indoor record and the same distance as the Oceanian outdoor record.[4][13]
Later in 2014, Walsh improved his outdoor personal best and theNew Zealand record with 21.23 m (69 ft7+3⁄4 in) at the2014 IAAF Diamond League meet inGlasgow on 11 July,[14] before improving again to 21.24 m (69 ft 8 in) on 27 July, during the qualifying round at the2014 Commonwealth Games, which was aCommonwealth Games record.[15] In the final, Walsh won the silver medal behindO'Dayne Richards.[16]
In 2015, Walsh defended his New Zealand shot put title with a throw of 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in) on 8 March,[17] before setting a newOceanian record of 21.37 m (70 ft1+1⁄4 in) on 21 March at theMelbourne Track Classic.[18]
Walsh finished fourth at the2015 World Championships on 23 August inBeijing, throwing a new personal best of 21.58m.[19] He was just 11 cm off the bronze medal. He improved his personal best to 21.62m on 8 September in winning the shot put at theHanžeković Memorial inZagreb.[20] On 11 September Walsh won his firstDiamond League meet with a throw of 21.39m inBrussels.[21]
In the2016 World Indoor Championships, Walsh won the gold medal with a throw of 21.78m, breaking his own New Zealand national and Oceania area indoor records three times in the process. He went on to take the bronze medal at theRio de Janeiro Olympic Games, with 21.36m, and the following year won the2017 IAAF World Championships with 22.03m.[22]
Walsh retained his World Indoor title at the2018 World Indoor Championships, with a then personal best of 22.31m. He surpassed this with 22.67m on 25 March the same year, at the Sir Graeme Douglas International Track Challenge inWest Auckland, New Zealand, moving him into thetop-10 World All-Time.
At the2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, Walsh threw 22.45m, setting a new Commonwealth Games record en route to qualify for theShot Put Men's final.
In 2019, Walsh threw 22.90m in the first round of the2019 World Athletics Championships to set a new Oceanian record. He finishedin third place.
At the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Walsh took third place once again, with a throw of 22.47m. At the2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships, Walsh equalled his own indoor Oceanian record.
Walsh works part-time as a builder inTimaru.[23][24]
Tom's father, Peter, won the New Zealand junior men's shot put in the 1964–65 season[citation needed] and was a member of the 1974South Canterbury Rugby side that won theRanfurly Shield.[citation needed]
Senior implement weight (7.26 kg) only.
| Year | Performance | Competition | Location | Date | World ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 17.57 m | Waitakere, New Zealand | 20 February | ||
| 2011 | 18.83 m | North Shore, New Zealand | 5 December | 123 | |
| 2012 | 19.33 m | Amiens, France | 30 June | 111= | |
| 2013 | 20.61 m | Melbourne, Australia | 12 December | 22= | |
| 2014 | 21.26 m (i) | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 7 March | 11 |
| 21.24 m | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, Scotland | 27 July | ||
| 2015 | 21.62 m | Hanžeković Memorial | Zagreb, Croatia | 7 September | 5 |
| 2016 | 22.21 m | Hanžeković Memorial | Zagreb, Croatia | 5 September | 2 |
| 2017 | 22.14 m | World Championships | London, England | 5 August | |
| 2018 | 22.31 m | 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, England | 3 March | |
| 2018 | 22.67 m | Sir Graeme Douglas International Track Challenge | West Auckland, New Zealand | 25 March | |
| 2019 | 22.90 m | 2019 World Athletics Championships | Doha, Qatar | 5 October | =2 |
| 2020 | 21.70 m | New Zealand National Champs | Christchurch, New Zealand | 6 March |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New Zealand's Sportsman of the Year 2017, 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Halberg Awards – Supreme Award 2018 | Succeeded by |
|
 Diamond League champions in men's shot put | |
|---|---|
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
