Tom Walsh: Early Life, Career & Net Worth
Born as Tomas Walsh in Geraldine, New Zealand, on the 1st of March 1992, Tom Walsh is a New Zealander athlete whose focus is primarily on shot put.
Not only that, but he also competes in the discus throw on occasion.
Walsh is an absolute pioneer in the field, smashing multiple records as setting many more and representing his home country in various international sporting events.
Walsh quickly rose to become one of the best shot putters alive, and well, perhaps one of the greatest shot putters in the sport’s history.
Indeed, he has been ranked as the 5th best shot putter in history.
Here, we have everything you need to know about this marvelous man.
Quick Facts
Here are some quick facts about Tomas.
| Full Name | Tomas Walsh |
| Nick Name | Tom Walsh |
| Date of birth | March 1, 1992 |
| Place of birth | Geraldine, New Zealand |
| Residence | Timaru |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Ethnicity | Irish |
| Religion | Christian |
| Age | [calculate_years datestring=”03/01/1992″] Years Old |
| Profession | Athlete, Builder |
| Education | Geraldine Primary School |
| Height | 6 feet 1 inch |
| Weight | 135 kg |
| Skin color | Fair |
| Hair color | Blonde |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Gender | Male |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Horoscope | Pisces |
| Birthstone | Aquamarine |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Father’s name | Peter Walsh |
| Siblings | Unknown |
| Relationship status | Unmarried |
| Years active | 2009-Present |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Merch | Apparel and Safety Equipment |
| Last Update | [current-month], [current-year] |
Age, Height, and Weight
The famous shot putter has a massive body size that weighs 135 kg with a towering height of 6 feet 1 inch.
Tomas is now 29 years old.
Early life
Tomas Walsh was born in Geraldine, New Zealand, a small town of Christchurch, where Walsh resides.
Walsh was born on March 1, 1992, so he is a Pisces, and his birthstone is Aquamarine. He was raised in a fairly comfortable upbringing.
The athlete was avid at athletics during his youth, participating in competitions held in the school. For primary education, Tomas went to Geraldine Primary School, and later, Geraldine High School.
While he was great at athletics, he mainly focused on shot put, as Tom’s father, Peter, had won New Zealand’s Junior Men’s Shot Put in 1964-65.
Tomas’s father was also an enthusiastic rugby player who played for the South Canterbury Rugby team while he was in his youth. Peter even won a few leagues in his own right.
Perhaps these athletic genes are what enabled Tom to become such a good athlete. Not discounting all of the hard work he has done, including training, dieting, and perfecting technique.
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Career
Youth career
Although Walsh had done athletics his whole life, his first international competition was in 2009 at the World Youth Championships in Athletics.
Tomas came in the sixth position for shot put. He also tried for the discus throw, which he failed to place.
In the same year of December, Walsh managed to set a new record (5kg shot over 66 feet) in the shot put under “18 during a Senior Boys” title at New Zealand National Secondary School Track and Field Championships.
Although the record was broken shortly after (the next day in the same competition, in fact), this wouldn’t be the last time he would go on to set a world record.
The next year, Walsh would set a record in the New Zealand “Junior Athletics Championships”. He had a distance of over 61 feet and 8 inches. This record was also broken a few days later.
Throughout this, you can see a theme of Walsh’s records being broken shortly after he set them. All of this was done by none other than Walsh’s rival Jacko Gill, a fellow kiwi shot putter.
Gill would deny Walsh the chance to win the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics by beating Walsh in the semi-final round. Gill then went on to win the gold medal.
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Professional Career
It was not until 2012 that Walsh won his first “National-level Shot Put” title. He managed to win again in 2013.
In the following year of December, Walsh managed to get back at his old rival Gill by breaking his New Zealand senior shot put record, not once, but twice.
Walsh threw 67 feet and around 7 inches the first time. He later got this to 69 feet and 5 inches.
In 2013, he again won his first discus title, although he would quickly deviate from the sport and focus on improving his shot putting throw.
During the same year, something that really set him on his journey for self-improvement was when he missed the world championships by a distance of 1 centimeter.
Who knew that such a small distance could have such a profound impact on a person’s life.
Breaking Records
In 2014, Walsh ranked third in the 2014 “IAAF World Indoor Championships” in Poland, setting a national record for indoor shot put. This was also his first competition that was held indoors.
Thus, this is a testament to how good he is. His record was 69 feet and 9 inches.
This record would also be defended in the 2018 “IAAF World Indoor Championships”, where he set another record.
It was, in fact, an Oceanic record for indoor shot put, and it did not stop there.
Walsh soon improved upon this record in Scotland during the IAAF “Diamond League”.
And once again, Tomas broke that record during the “Commonwealth Games” qualification for that year, setting a Commonwealth Games record for shot put. He later went on to win a silver medal.
The next year, Walsh beat his previous records at the Melbourne Track Classic with a distance of 70 feet and 1 ¼ inch.
Tomas would keep on breaking his national-level record during his career as a shot putter; he scored a new personal best in the 2015 “World Championships” and again in the Diamond League meet in Brussels, with a new record of 21.39 meters.
If all of this record-breaking is getting you confused, well boy, you’re in for more!
In the 2016 “World Indoor Championships“, Walsh would break his national and regional level record, not once, not twice, but three times. Tomas also, unsurprisingly, managed to obtain the gold medal.
Olympics
After this series of successes, Walsh managed to represent his country in the International “Olympic Games” in Rio, he managed to get a bronze medal.
In the next year, Walsh won another bronze in the IAAF World Championships. He broke the record there, too, with a distance of 22.03 meters.
However, after all this, the thing that would propel him to the top would be the “Sir Graeme Douglas International Track Challenge” in New Zealand, where he scored a current record distance of 22.67 meters.
Walsh then became one of the “Top 10 World All-Time Best Shot Putters in History”.
Again, Walsh broke the “Commonwealth Games” records in 2018, with a distance of 22.45 meters.
Tom Walsh is looking forward to winning the Olympic 2021 in Tokyo, as he has been preparing himself for it even though there were chances of the Olympics being postponed.
Personal Life
Tom Walsh currently has a girlfriend who goes by the name of Dana Mulcahy. As of this moment, they live together in the port city in Timaru, New Zealand.
Timaru is a large city southwest of Christchurch, and he and his girlfriend have a dog named “Rippa.”
Tomas is coached by Dale Stevenson, as well as by conditioning expert Angus Ross. He competes for South Canterbury Athletic Club.
While he is off-season for athletics, Walsh works as a builder. He says he works this job to earn a little bit of extra money. But, it is also to have something to do. It also puts his physical strength to good use.
Lifestyle and Net Worth
The athlete has a total net worth of around $1 million- $5 million. Apart from shot putting, Walsh is also a builder that helped him to increase his net worth.
Apart from shot put, the athlete enjoys playing golf in his free time.
In a recent interview with NZMP, Walsh shared his diet routine to prepare for the Olympics Games 2021 in Tokyo.
Read further to see what Walsh’s diet includes:
Breakfast: Bowl of oats mixed with protein powder, berries, milk, and honey.
Mid Morning: Protein snack shake with oats, berries—additional sandwich.
Lunch: Carbohydrate, protein, and vegetables, topped with protein shake snack.
Dinner: Diet for dinner includes same as for lunch.
Overall, protein is the main source of diet for Walsh. His daily diet includes 5000 calories which he have in between every 2-2 and half hours. That makes his meals spread across 5 or 6 times.
Walsh’s training starts at 9 am, which goes on for three hours. Then, further, it is spread into one and half hours of throwing, and the remaining one and half hours pass by lift session and circuit training.
Charity
Unfortunately, there is no sort of information available about Walsh in terms of social service. However, we will soon update if there are any in the coming days.
Social Media
Along with shot put and bodybuilding, Tom is fairly active on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
The athlete has 3863 followers on Twitter, 7.3 K followers on Facebook, and 23.50K followers on Instagram. Walsh mostly shares pictures and videos about his training, workouts, and the nutrients he consumes on Instagram.
Facts
Some of the facts that you should know about Tomas Walsh.
- Walsh’s strategy lies much more in using and perfecting his throwing technique to throw the shot at the right time.
- Tomas’s training regimen includes plenty of strength heavy exercises.
- Walsh’s ideal workout consists of a deadlift first, then a squat exercise, followed up by lifts and rotational exercises. This is a three-day-per-week regimen, and it’s something he follows personally.
- Tomas works for 30 hours a week as a builder to keep himself fit and earn more money.
- Not only short put, but Walsh is also equally good in the field of cricket.
- Walsh surely has a big appetite. He has a record of eating a burger that weighs 1 kg, 600g of chips, and 400g of mixed veg during an eating challenge.
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Quotes
- “Don’t push the river. It’ll flow by itself.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who was Tom Walsh’s first coach?
Ian Baird was Tom’s first coach, who instilled a love of the sport in him.
