Athletics World Championships 19.8.–27.8. Ylen channels. See the schedule and broadcast information of the games at this link. Men’s shot put qualifying and final on Saturday.
Jacko Gill had a reputation as a true super talent in the early 2010s. The New Zealand shot putter shot a wild mark with the balls of his age group.
In 2010, he made a splash by winning the under-20 world championship at just 15 years old. Also a sprint legend Usain Bolt won the Junior World Championship gold at the age of 15.
The following year, Gill pounded the five-kilogram equipment used in the under-18 series to an astonishing age group ME reading of 24.45.
The world record in the under-20 series is also still in Gill’s name. Ten years ago, he hit the ME result of 23 meters with a six-kilo ball in that age group.
Also an adult device, a 7.25 kg ball left Gill’s hand more than 20 meters when the New Zealand talent was still 16 years old. At the same age, he had also broken the result limit of the 2012 London Olympics. He was called a medalist at the London Games and a superstar of the sport.
It was considered inevitable that Gilli would also become the king of the balls among the adults. However, that title has been taken by an American ME man Ryan Crouserwho was not talked about as a young similar super promise.
Crouser has set the shot put world record twice (23.37 and 23.56). He has two Olympic victories and a world championship. However, for the New Zealander, who is a couple of years younger, a World Cup or Olympic medal on outdoor tracks is still exhausting.
On Saturday at the World Championships in Budapest, however, Gill has the best chance of his career.
A valuable win
Gill has certainly been a good pusher for a long time. The athlete, born in 1994, is a multiple-time finalist in prestigious competitions.
In New Zealand, however, the standard for the sport has been set high. On the women’s side, one of the legends of the sport Valerie Adams won no fewer than four world championships and two Olympic gold medals during his long career.
Gill, on the other hand, has been able to watch from the side for a long time how his compatriots are doing Tom Walsh has achieved tremendous success in the last ten years. The 31-year-old Walsh’s collection of awards includes, among other things, the World Championship gold on outdoor tracks, two world championships on indoor tracks and two Olympic bronze medals.
A significant milestone for Gill came at the start of the year when he claimed his first national title, ending Walsh’s 13-year reign.
Gill beat Walsh twice in a row in the winter, which deflated the younger New Zealander.
– I lost ten years to him, so this means a lot to me. Competition is everything. I like him a lot as a friend, so this was great, Gill beamed to the New Zealander For Stuff.
The hit game helped during the competition break
Whereas Walsh is social, outgoing and likes to spend time with the media, Gill is described as a modest guy who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight any more than he should.
However, Gill shared the passion he found on his Instagram profile for a few years. He had discovered the augmented reality mobile game Pokemon GO, which was particularly popular, especially among children, a few years ago.
Gill said in the update that he got meaningful content from the game during a difficult phase. In the years 2016–2018, he had, among other things, a broken leg. Around the same time, however, Gill encountered an even more arresting piece of information.
Gil was diagnosed with myocarditis. In 2017, Gill, who wasn’t feeling particularly well, was rushed to the hospital, where he stayed for about two weeks.
He was found to have symptoms of a heart attack. Gill had to take a long break, but the heart disease did not stop the talent’s career.
Hard border laundry finally broken
As a young man, Gill was known as a fierce trainer who achieved strong results in the weight room. In recent years, Gill’s mentality has changed. His current coach by Dale Stevenson with, he approaches shot put these days more through technique.
Stevenson is Walsh’s former coach.
– Everything is due to technology. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I spend more time on technology. That should help me push further.
In the winter in Auckland, Gill reached 22 meters for the first time in his career. He broke the result in Auckland with 22.12.
Crouser and Kovacs are tied for the first two medal positions in advance. The bronze medal could well become a toss-up between the New Zealanders.
– I am really happy. “I feel like I’m in a great place and I’m enjoying what I’m doing,” Gill enthused to Stuff.