WALSH Tomas

General
BARNES THE ONE TO BEAT
He says that US athlete Randy Barnes' shot put world record of 23.12m set in 1990 is the record he wants to beat, despite Barnes receiving a ban for an anti-doping violation the same year, and later a lifetime ban. "Like a few other records, there are controversial ones. People say Joe [US athlete Joe Kovacs] has got the clean world record now. I personally don't look at it that way. The world record is in a book and it's 23.12m. Yes, there may be some controversial things around that, but that is the mark I'm looking to beat." (nzherald.co.nz, 06 Oct 2019)

PASSIONATE GOLFER
He is passionate about golfing, and believes it is important to have interests outside of athletics. "Particularly for some of the athletes who go away for two to three months at a time, it is important to focus on something more than athletics. Golf is my passion. It gets me out of the house for five hours and that is great. My coach and I have a rule that we don't talk athletics on the golf course. Playing the game is a great break from athletics." (spikes.worldathletics.org, 12 Apr 2017)

OCCUPATION
He has done part-time work as a builder to help pay the bills and keep him grounded. "The boys [workmates] bring me back down to earth whenever I come back from being away. I just think it's good to have something else in your life to do apart from training. A career to fall back on if something happens, injury or something. It is a big Kiwi [New Zealand] thing to be grounded and humble. Never become too arrogant or cocky because if you have annoyed too many people on your journey to the top, people won't help you when you are no longer number one." (spikes.worldathletics.org, 12 Apr 2017; throwholics.com, 19 Jan 2014; stuff.co.nz, 30 Apr 2016)

In 2017 he became the first male New Zealand athlete to win a gold medal at the world championships in either track or field events, when he claimed gold in shot put at the 2017 edition in London, England. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2020)

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he became the first male New Zealand athlete to win an Olympic medal in a field event, when he claimed bronze in shot put. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2020)

In 2016 he became the first male New Zealand athlete to win a gold medal at the indoor world championships in either track or field events, when he claimed gold in shot put at the 2016 edition in Portland, OR, United States of America. He also claimed gold in shot put at the indoor world championships in 2018, making him the first male New Zealand athlete to successfully defend a world indoor title. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2020)