Tom Walsh releasing the winning toss in Zagreb (© Organisers)
Beating back wind and rain, Tom Walsh dominated the shot put competition as the Zagreb IAAF World Challenge meeting got underway at the City Fountains Park in the centre of the Croatian capital on Monday (2).
While most competitors struggled to find their footing on the wet circle early on, Walsh went on a tear, opening with a 21.63m effort to take command of the competition for good. He followed up with a 21.91m heave in the second round and 21.98 in the sixth to pad his victory.
"I'm in a good place now," Walsh told interviewers for Croatian National TV. "I'm feeling really good with the World Championships coming soon."
Darrell Hill was a distant runner-up, reaching 21.30 in round three and improving to 21.50m in round five.
Joe Kovacs also managed to breach the 21-metre line, throwing 21.22 in round four to round out the podium trio.
Further back, Chukwuebuka Enekwecki of Nigeria reached 20.95m in the third round to finish fourth. Konrad Bukowiecki of Poland was fifth with 20.58m.
The meeting's main programme gets underway on Tuesday at 18:20 with the women's javelin throw.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
