Tom Walsh competes in the men's shot put qualifying round in Paris. Photo: BEN STANSALL / AFP
Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill have both made short work of qualifying in the Paris OIympics men's shot put.
Both New Zealanders advanced to Sunday morning's final at the Stade de France by meeting the automatic qualifying mark of 21.35m with their second-round throws.
Gill, competing in group A, threw bang on the qualifying mark to secure his place in the final.
Afterwards, he revealed he was still recovering from an ankle injury suffered while birdwatching during a hike a few months ago.
Jacko Gill competes in the men's shot put qualifying round in Paris. Photo: BEN STANSALL / AFP
Walsh, meanwhile, qualified with a throw of 21.48m.
Italy's Leonardi Fabbri was the top qualifier with a throw of 21.76m, while gold-medal favourite Ryan Crouser of the US placed third in his qualification group after heaving the shot 21.49m.
The qualifying rounds for athletics got underway on Friday night, NZ time. Sprinting hope Zoe Hobbs came second in her 100m heat with a time of 11.08] and progresses to the next round.
New Zealand's 17-strong athletics team in Paris is its biggest ever and hopes are high for some podium finishes. It will be Walsh's third Olympic Games.
The men's shot put final will be on Sunday morning from 5.35am. American Ryan Crouser is the two-time defending champion and world record holder and remains the man to beat.
After qualifying, Walsh said his first-round throw of 20.65m was "a little bit short and tight".
"So all I wanted to do [for the second round] was commit to the throw and stay long through it, and that's exactly what I managed to do on that second round throw.
"Today is all about qualifying, so I managed to tick that off, and now onto the final."
Tom Walsh during the qualifying round of the Paris Olympics men's shot put. Photo: BEN STANSALL / AFP
Asked how he would prepare, Walsh said: "Some kai, some treatment, some rest. A little bit of a warm-down, but my warm down is a walk round the track once, and that's about it really."
The atmosphere was "amazing" at the Stade de France, he said: "I was saying to someone out there, my wife said to me, 'Imagine what little Tom would have made of all of this'.
"Sometimes we can kind of get a bit scared of [the big crowds and pressure] and back away, and I wanted to make a point of taking it all in and going, 'Wow this is amazing'."
Gill injured ankle while bird-watching
In an interview with Sky Sport, Jacko Gill revealed his build-up had not been ideal after hurting his ankle on a hike a few months ago.
"I was doing some birdwatching and fell down the stairs, so I've had a high ankle sprain that's been really pesky for the last two or three months.
"I've just been trying to manage that and my throws have dropped down, like, a metre.
"So to get some of that distance back, I'm just really happy and it gives me so much confidence going into the final."
The qualifying round throw was the furthest Gill had thrown in training or competition in about four months, he said.
"It's annoying, [the ankle] hasn't got better so it's just a bit frustrating ... it's not really sore - it just affects the ... function of the ankle, so can't quite drive up off it as much as I'd like ... but it's definitely feeling better."
