New Zealand sprinter Tiaan Whelpton. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The 24-year-old is producing personal best times and has qualified for the first world meeting of the year.
"This time last year I felt lost, I didn't know what I was up to. I was trying to make things work and it just wasn't and I was struggling with injuries," Whelpton told RNZ.
The Cape Town born athlete moved to New Zealand in 2019 and representing New Zealand has been his focus since then.
New Zealand sprinter Tiaan Whelpton. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
It took a while for Whelpton to get settled, but now he is in a good place with his living situation and the people he's managed to get around him as a support crew.
"I think I've just got a better balance of things going on now.
"Being able to work with a physio on a weekly basis makes a huge difference as those little niggles don't develop into injuries."
Whelpton is not a fully funded athlete and relies on the goodness of others to help out. He helps fill the wallet with some coaching and modelling work.
"I'm very thankful to those who are helping me because they want to help me, they're invested in me and they want to see me do well."
Whelpton qualified for the World Indoor Championships with a national 60 metre record in Australia in January.
He said he was hopeful of qualifying for the world indoors but not expecting to.
"In our minds this year was really only going to be a let's find our feet and figure things out year."
He followed up his 60 metre time with a personal best of 10.10 seconds in the 100 metres at the Sir Graeme Douglas meeting in Auckland in February.
"We weren't expecting to run this quick this soon and because of those times our goals have certainly shifted for the year. Maybe we can hit an automatic qualifier for the outdoors (World Championships in Japan in September) and maybe we can jump start things to LA in 2028 (Olympics).
"We actually have a four year plan, we know where we want to be and there is structure."
Finances permitting he hopes to run in Europe in June and July in an attempt to qualifying for the World Champs.
For now Whelpton is focused on the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Dunedin this week where he'll defend his 100m title.
New Zealand shot putters Jacko Gill (R) and Tom Walsh. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
NZ Track and Field Championships highlights
The championships are being held at Dunedin's Caledonian Ground, 6-9 March. Here's what to watch for.
Sprints:
The two standout sprinters are unlikely to be challenged for titles.
Oceania's fastest woman Zoe Hobbs will defend her 100m title. She has already qualified for the World Indoor Championships with some impressive runs over 60 metres.
Hobbs will out to win her ninth 100m title.
Tiaan Whelpton has also qualified for World Indoors after breaking the 60m national record, that had stood for 30 years, earlier this summer.
He set a new residents record over 100m at the Sir Graeme Douglas meeting last month and won in Christchurch a fortnight ago.
Paralympic 200m champion Anna Grimaldi will also line-up in the women's Open 100m.
Shot Put:
There will be another interesting battle in the shot put ring with Tom Walsh keen to get his national title back.
Rival Jacko Gill has won the title the last two years and he has a good chance of extending that as Walsh continues to recover from the injury that deflated his Olympic campaign.
Both are still to reach the qualifying standard for this month's World Indoor Championships.
Olympic silver medalist Maddi Wesche will be chasing her fourth successive women's title.
Middle distance:
Sam Tanner has been the person to beat over 1500m in recent years and he'll be keen to continue his progress back from the injury that affected his build-up to last year's Olympics.
He has run some decent times both here and indoors in the US this year.
A possible 1500m showdown with youngster Sam Ruthe is on the cards with the 15 year old breaking an age-group world best time at the Sir Graeme Douglas meeting in February.
Earlier that month Ruthe became the youngest ever man to win a national senior title when he won the 3000 metres at the Potts Classic in Napier.
Other field events:
Despite having only been back competing for a few weeks Olympic high jump champion Hamish Kerr managed to jump a very respectable 2.30 metres a fortnight ago which pushed him up the rankings and should ensure him a place at the World Indoors. An automatic qualifying height of 2.33m could be in his sights this weekend.
Eliza McCartney and Olivia McTaggart will battle for the pole-vault title, while world under-20 triple jump champion Ethan Olivier, Olympic hammer thrower Tori Moorby (nee Peeters) and discus thrower Connor Bell will be defending titles.
