Junior Shot Put '13

[Powell]

Brzozowski finished 3rd in the national senior champs with 18.90 yesterday.

[gh]

Days up to 70-8 with the 12 tonite.

[unclezadok]

These are indeed Braheme Days.

[jhc68]

There has been some criticism of Jacko Gill's training methods. I've got no problem with his approach since it seems to be producing astounding results... to each his own.
HOWEVER, if his latest claim re-posted here is to be believed, benching 205KG "alone with no spotter" goes beyond controversial and into the realm of pure stupidity.

[bushop]

There has been some criticism of Jacko Gill's training methods. I've got no problem with his approach since it seems to be producing astounding results... to each his own.
HOWEVER, if his latest claim re-posted here is to be believed, benching 205KG "alone with no spotter" goes beyond controversial and into the realm of pure stupidity.

Jacko Gill Feb 26
205kg 451lb @ 17 and 2 months (BW 107kg)

Is the video proof?

[gh]

PR for Vena yesterday

62-1 (18.92)

[bushop]

Jacko Gill narrowly misses breaking NZ record
16:11 24/03/2012
• with video
"It was good to get a performance so close to my personal best without freshening up," Gill said. "It's probably not as far as I hoped, but I'm pretty happy under the circumstances."

also, from November:
Channel Interview: Jacko Gill, World Champion Shot Putter
“From a very young age it is what I’ve wanted,” says Jacko. “There has really only been one option for me and that is to be the best. I have been very lucky that my parents have supported me by funding my trips, and others have helped considerably as well.”

[bushop]

Bridgeton shot putter Braheme Days Jr. uses hard work to become The Press Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Wed Mar 21, 2012.
By NYSSA DOUGHERTY For the Press |
“I put in a lot of hard work and it came back later in the form of a national title and the national lead, but you kind of have to take it as it comes,” Days said. “You can’t hold on to things. You have to say, ‘This happened, it was fun while it lasted and now it’s on to something new.’ ”

[26mi235]

PR for Vena yesterday

62-1 (18.92)

By one centimeter (one cm less would have had them both in) it knocked Dan Block of Wisconsin out of the NCAA meet.

[bushop]

Jacko Gill aims at London shot medal
MARC HINTON Last updated 09:03 25/03/2012
"It will be a sensation if Gill isn't named today in the initial wave of qualified athletes. The North Shore youngster is on target to achieve Valerie Adams-like dominance of his event and it doesn't make any sense not to pitch him in now. The apprenticeship isn't expected to last long."

[bushop]

Adams, Willis lead NZ athletics team for London
SIMON PLUMB Last updated 16:31 25/03/2012
"But the group does not yet include teenage shot putter Jacko Gill, whose Olympic fate rests in a "pending group". In other words, there's room for the likes of Tom Walsh to gain full category A status - and the NZOC must wait to see if that happens, as under International Olympic Committee rules only one athlete per country may compete at B standard per event."

[mal]

There has been some criticism of Jacko Gill's training methods. I've got no problem with his approach since it seems to be producing astounding results... to each his own.
HOWEVER, if his latest claim re-posted here is to be believed, benching 205KG "alone with no spotter" goes beyond controversial and into the realm of pure stupidity.

They said the same thing to Clark Kent.

Ye of little faith, and narrow expectations.

[bushop]

Jacko Gill not yet a certain starter at Olympics
SIMON PLUMB Last updated 26/03/2012
"However, behind the scenes rumours have been rife suggesting the 17-year-old may be declined Olympic selection, with maturity cited as a potentially deal-breaking factor. When directly questioned about Gill's maturity yesterday, Kereyn Smith seemingly rejected the rumours, effectively saying: "If he's good enough, he'll go."

[tandfman]

Story now linked on front page says that Gill has dedided to forego the Olympics and concentrate on the World Juniors this year.

What a pity!. I was looking forward to his doing both.

[bushop]

Jacko Gill by-passes London 2012 Olympics
MON, 02 APR 2012 3:03 P.M.
“I will now put all my eggs in the one basket.” Gill said. “I cannot focus my training with even the smallest doubt of selection, in particular which weight shots to throw and associated distractions. If I had been named for the Olympics at this early stage, it would have been a different scenario.”

[derby_county]

Story now linked on front page says that Gill has dedided to forego the Olympics and concentrate on the World Juniors this year.

What a pity!. I was looking forward to his doing both.

Yep, not much point in taking the club shirt to cheer him on now.

[derby_county]

Jacko Gill by-passes London 2012 Olympics
MON, 02 APR 2012 3:03 P.M.
“ If I had been named for the Olympics at this early stage, it would have been a different scenario.”

Congratulations Athletics NZ and the NZOC, just when you think their incompetence couldn't get any worse, it does.

[bushop]

Jacko Gill by-passes London 2012 Olympics
MON, 02 APR 2012 3:03 P.M.
“If I had been named for the Olympics at this early stage, it would have been a different scenario.”

Congratulations Athletics NZ and the NZOC, just when you think their incompetence couldn't get any worse, it does.

What should Athletics NZ and the NZOC do with an athlete with an Olympic "B" Standard performance?

[derby_county]

What should Athletics NZ and the NZOC do with an athlete with an Olympic "B" Standard performance?

The problem is that the impression given by the NZOC was that a single standard was being used, one determined by themselves and not the Olympic standard! This standard was neither an Olympic A or B but in-between.

[mump boy]

He's only just 17 years old competing in an event that only improves with maturity, he needs to get back in school, stop messing about on youtube and concentrate on winning the olympics in 8 years time.

What's the rush, apart from David Storl no one on the youth to Jnr all time SP list has achieved anything of note as a senior, i'd prefer to see him competing at the 2028 Olympics than the 2012.

[Tuariki]

The role of NZ officials in the debacle of the Jacko Gill qualifying story

April 2011

ENTRY STANDARDS
Approved by IAAF Council April 2011

Men - Shot Put
A Standard - 20.50m
B Standard - 20.00m

23 April 2011

Jacko Gill throws 20.01m to beat the just announced Olympic B qualifying standard.
A simply amazing incredible performance for a 16 year old.

9 May 2011

The New Zealand Olympic Committee's Keryn Smith is reported in the NZ media saying that:

1) NZ Olympic selection standards are diffferent than the IAAF standards
2) NZ sets a standard based on an expected Top-16 finish.
3) The IAAF standard is below the one the NZOC and NZ Athletics will set
4) Only two athletes per country are able to be selected per event

The rules for the London Olympics clearly state that up to three athletes per country, who acheive the 'A' standard set by the IAAF, may be selected.

In 2004 Olympics a 20.01m throw woud have place 10th in the final
In 2008 Olympics a 20.01m throw woud have place 11th in the final

This would seen to be pretty conclusive evidence that Jacko had every right to claim an expectation of being able to meet the required expectation of a top-16 finish.

It would also seem pretty conclusive evidence that the IAAf qualifying B standard for the shot exceeds the required expectation of a top-16 finish.


17 June 2011

The minutes of the monthly board meeting for NZ Athletics reports that:

1) Jacko's 20.01m throw is ratified.
2) The 2012 Olympic selection policy is approved. However, strangely enough no mention is made just what this entails. There is no reference to the selection standards. No appendix that has the selections standards. A review of all previous and subsequent board minutes shows that the performance standards have never been recorded as being aproved.

However, after much searching of the NZ Athletics web site - one of the most user-unfriendly sites I have come across - I finally found the NZ Athletics standards for London 2012.

3. Nomination Criteria
Athletes seeking nomination must satisfy the following nomination criteria:

4. Performance Standards and Qualifying Periods
4.1 An athlete should attain the required performance standard on at least one occasion.

9. Performance Standards
Men - - - - Event
20.30 - - - Shot Put

http://performance.athletics.org.nz/ind ... -team-page

Jacko was made aware that his 20.01 was not good enough and that he was required to meet the 20.30 standard set down by the NZ Athletics Board. It is my understanding that 20.30m was the top-16 expectation standard set by NZ Athletics which in my opinion was not unreasonable, although given the recent history of the mens shot at the Olympics and the World Champs it could be argued it was unnecessarily high.

November 2011

ENTRY STANDARDS
Approved by IAAF Council April 2011
Amended by IAAF Council November 2011
Men
A Standard - 20.50m
B Standard - 20.00m

Extracted from IAAF web ste

The IAAf amends some of the qualifying standards but not the men's standards for the shot.
Jacko still meets the B standard but not the NZ Athletics standard.

4 December 2011

I get to watch Jacko throw 20.38m. Still 16 years old.

Jacko now meets the NZ Athletics standard. His 20.38 would have placed 10th in Beijing, 6th in Athens, 6th in Sydney. The throw would have placed him 9th in Daegu (Also 6th= at Istanbul). It is pretty much impossible for NZ Athletics to argue against the claim that it is a reasonable expectation that Jacko would make the top-16 at London.

He also meets ALL requirements for selection under NZ Athletics selection policy.

25 March 2012

The first announcement of TnF athletes for London are announced. Jacko is not on that list. NZ Athletics states it is because he has not made the A performance standard. However, there is nothing in the NZ Athletics Olympic selection criteria that states he must meet the IAAF A standard.

It has been suggested in some quarters that they waited because it is possible someone else might meet the standard - that is, Tom Walsh a 19 year old who has thrown 18.83m and is the world's 5th best junior shot putter. However, given his recent performances only the world's most optimistic one-eyed Walsh supporter would think Walsh has any chance of achieving 20.30m before London 2012.

As at today

The most exciting shot prospect in history has told NZ Athletics to shove it. He doesn't want to bother with the Olympics anymore. He is tired of being screwed around. First they put in an age limit rule last year that prevents him from competing in he NZ senior shot - a rule that the IAAF does not have - and quite possibly no other country has. i can't think why any other country in the world would be stupid enough to put in a rule, contrary to IAAF rules, that would prevent the country's national record holder from competing in its own national champs. But then again we seem to historically breed a typically stupid form of adminstrator in NZ.

If the NZ selectors were truly worried about 2 thoers reaching the B standard, and if they had half a brain, they would have announced that Jacko was provisionally selected for London but because it was technically feasible someone else might also achieve the 20.30m standard then final confirmation could not be made until the final cut off date in July. Such an anouncement would then have told Jacko that he was fully and totally supported by NZ Athletics and barring the unlikely he was definitely going to London.

But unfortunately the NZ Athletics Board does not have half a collective brain between them.

What we have is Athletics New Zealand high performance director Scott Goodman trying to make excuses for his, and the Board's incompetence. They have tried to claim that it was well known what the selection criteria was. And that is just a load of whitewashing crap.

Athletes are required to meet "High Performance" standards and report to a "High Performance" director who, unlike the athletes, only has to operate under low performnce standards.

[Tuariki]

He's only just 17 years old competing in an event that only improves with maturity, he needs to get back in school, stop messing about on youtube and concentrate on winning the olympics in 8 years time.

What's the rush, apart from David Storl no one on the youth to Jnr all time SP list has achieved anything of note as a senior, i'd prefer to see him competing at the 2028 Olympics than the 2012.

Mump - what a "dorky" comment.

Thank God for Bob Mathias you weren't around to stop him displaying his immaturity at, ironically, London in 1948.

And why does he have to wait till 2020 to concentrate on the Olympics. With your standards I guess you would have stopped Usain Bolt as well.

The reality is that Gill is capable of throwing well over 21m this year. Whether he will or not remains to be seen. However, I saw him thow a legal warm up on 4 December 2011 that measured 20.75m. The kid is a complete phenom - even more so than Storl.

And you want him to wait till 2020!!

I for one hope that he smashes Storls junior record at Barcelona and then a few days later goes on to thrown 21m and then hopefully that will convince him to change his mind.

[Vault-emort]

I would have liked to see him competing in London - just for the experience. I think he is deserving of it and - given his rapid and continued improvement to date - I'm surprised Aths NZL haven't been more encouraging.

[bushop]

I would have liked to see him competing in London - just for the experience. I think he is deserving of it and - given his rapid and continued improvement to date - I'm surprised Aths NZL haven't been more encouraging.

If Gill hits 20.50m he punches his ticket... otherwise he has to wait like everyone else under the "A" Standard.
Why would NZL do it differently?

[Vault-emort]

What's the rush, apart from David Storl no one on the youth to Jnr all time SP list has achieved anything of note as a senior

The youth to junior throws and multi lists are a poor basis for comparison given the changing specs; they're mainly fairly recent marks. Still, Ralf Bartels and Rutger Smith are at least two notable names.

[26mi235]

Gill has been pushing the envelope in a sometimes very unreasonable manner in part to make the "A" standard for 2012. I think that this is the best thing for him.


He is like a lot of youngsters - he has a deficit of patience and he needs much more. Now maybe he will focus a little further out and not take such unnecessary risks. Youngsters find that they did X several times so it must be safe -- with little kids running across the street would seem safe because they did it ten times and did not get hurt (or almost hurt). It is entirely the wrong frequency necessary for such an assessment. He has not gotten hurt too many times for too long in training and thinks he knows what he is doing.

Look at his late-night, solo lifting -- if anyone thinks that this is a smart way to train for the long-run I would be stunned.

[Vault-emort]

If Gill hits 20.50m he punches his ticket... otherwise he has to wait like everyone else under the "A" Standard. Why would NZL do it differently?

I'm not saying he had to be named as a definite. More of a 'quiet word' to him and his coach that he's been pencilled in and extremely likely to be named in the final team. That's the kind of encouragement I meant and I can't imagine him withdrawing from contention if that had been the case.

[Vault-emort]

Look at his late-night, solo..

Probably better to post an online video of your late-night solo benchpress than an online video of your late-night solo jerk and clean..

[bushop]

If Gill hits 20.50m he punches his ticket... otherwise he has to wait like everyone else under the "A" Standard. Why would NZL do it differently?

I'm not saying he had to be named as a definite. More of a 'quiet word' to him and his coach that he's been pencilled in and extremely likely to be named in the final team. That's the kind of encouragement I meant and I can't imagine him withdrawing from contention if that had been the case.

One guess is that someone didn't like the idea of Gill being treated like other "B" Standard athletes. Someone may have thought Gill being pencilled in was beneath an athlete in his situation... just a thought... not based on any facts.

[Throwers Podcast]

Gill's decision to forgo London only adds to his mystique. He has an opportunity reminiscent of Ricky Bruch circa 1984.

In my opinion, if Gill finished 12th at the Olympics in 2012, it would be a best case scenario. But as he has chosen to forgo the Olympics, imagine if he is able to throw the 16lb ball over 21m during a summer European meet somewhere... The outcry over his exclusion would be deafening! I'm thinking a 21m throw while snubbing the "establishment" is worth much more to his legacy than a top 12 finish would be. And it builds the hype for 2016.

I think he knows exactly what he's doing. No need to feel TOO sorry for him.

[Tuariki]

I would have liked to see him competing in London - just for the experience. I think he is deserving of it and - given his rapid and continued improvement to date - I'm surprised Aths NZL haven't been more encouraging.

If Gill hits 20.50m he punches his ticket... otherwise he has to wait like everyone else under the "A" Standard.
Why would NZL do it differently?

He is deserving of it because he has met the Athletics NZ qualifying criteria.

I understand why Athletics NZ is now saying he has to wait. My problem with Atheltics NZ is that if they were half way competent they would have had all of this spelt out in the selection qualifying policy. They didn't. And to even find their woefully inadequate selection document on their web site you need to be nothing short of Sherlock "bloody" Holmes. I think they should revert to part of their former name and call themselves "Amateur" Athletics NZ.

Gill has been pushing the envelope in a sometimes very unreasonable manner in part to make the "A" standard for 2012. I think that this is the best thing for him.

He is like a lot of youngsters - he has a deficit of patience and he needs much more. Now maybe he will focus a little further out and not take such unnecessary risks. Youngsters find that they did X several times so it must be safe -- with little kids running across the street would seem safe because they did it ten times and did not get hurt (or almost hurt). It is entirely the wrong frequency necessary for such an assessment. He has not gotten hurt too many times for too long in training and thinks he knows what he is doing.

Look at his late-night, solo lifting -- if anyone thinks that this is a smart way to train for the long-run I would be stunned.

26mi235 - And that is also a dorky comment.

If you were in NZ around 1958-ish you probably would say that Lydiard was being unreasonable having his athletes running unheard of things like 100 plus miles a week for 800m runners. Just as well as Snell was too stupid to realise that Lydiard was being unreasonable.

Why is it unreasonable for him to train at night? If his parents have learnt to put up with the late night crash banging of weights I can't see why it bothers you all the way in the USA.

For those of you, who like 26mi235 (and I include myself) have had concerns about the risks of injury to Jacko in the way he does lifting without a spotter, and especially in his bench press, that concern is understandable. I had a chat with his Dad Walter last week at the NZ Nationals. Walter says he understands and appreciates the world wide interest in what his son is doing and the concerns over possible serious injury. Walter has said that Jacko has a couple of times been unable to get the weight back up when bench pressing solo. However, Jacko has learnt how to let the weights down on one side and then push up the other side to extricate himself. Not a method I would recommend for yours truly but then Jacko is Jacko (wacko??). No matter what you think he certainly gets the results.

Gill's decision to forgo London only adds to his mystique. He has an opportunity reminiscent of Ricky Bruch circa 1984.

I think he knows exactly what he's doing. No need to feel TOO sorry for him.

I don't feel sorry for Jacko. I feel sorry for me on missing out on seeing what a 17 year old shot putter can achieve in the ultimate setting.




.

[gibson]

this case is a standard illustration of how athletics organizations are really about trumpeting their grand rules, regulations and status, making the big decisions, keeping all those naughty athletes in line.... while real care for the athletes goes by the way side.

good for gill to stick it to athletics new zealand and not suffer through their bullshit selection process and half-ass rules.

the more athletics new zealand can be embarrassed the better it will be for the athlete's that suffer under them.

athletics new zealand is talking bullshit saying gill is making the logical decision, as if to be on gill's side. while insinuating that gill is rash in not waiting for the selection that is sure to come, which is more bullshit, they should have approved him in the first place, and not fooled around with the athletes preparation.

with that said, athletes of experience say there is no better way to prepare for the olympics than by being at one.

into the future, athletics new zealand will play mr. nice guy with gill, knowing that if they screw with him in any way, it will likely blow up in their face.

i love gill. he won't play ball with losers.

[Powell]

But as he has chosen to forgo the Olympics, imagine if he is able to throw the 16lb ball over 21m during a summer European meet somewhere... The outcry over his exclusion would be deafening!

He has NOT been excluded, for cryin' out loud. It's 4 months to go to the OG, he would have plenty of time left to qualify.
Storl, Cantwell, Majewski etc. have not gotten their Olympic team berths at this point, either. Should they all also take offense at their respective national federations?

[Athleticsimaging]

In case nobody has noticed, the quoted Athletics NZ qualifying distance of 20.30m has been the A qualifier for SP for at least the decade prior to the recent revision to 20.50m. Maybe Athletics NZ forgot to notice that there was a new A standard and had to have some explanation about a "special standard"......

Of course, that was never going to be an issue as no NZer would throw that far in 2012.

[Gabriella]

He has NOT been excluded, for cryin' out loud. It's 4 months to go to the OG, he would have plenty of time left to qualify.
Storl, Cantwell, Majewski etc. have not gotten their Olympic team berths at this point, either. Should they all also take offense at their respective national federations?

This ^^

If Gill wants to throw his toys out the pram then let him. No athlete is bigger than their federation or the sport. He has to follow the qualifying rules, whatever they are, like everyone else. There was/is plenty of time for him to be selected.

Like mump I would rather he not be in London too, it'll help his long term career. Not because I want to be spiteful or rule him out for the sake of it or solely because of his age on paper, but more so because he seems to be just doing far too much too soon in the weights room. He needs to back off or he is going to do himself some serious damage. If he's going to have a strop because he's not in the first round of selections then imagine what he'd be like if he had been selected; we'd probably be reading of more solo late night jerk offs and next thing we know he's torn his shoulder muscle and out for a year.

He just needs to s-l-o-w down a little, not rush and consider his long term career goals...and tailor things around that.

God I hope I'm wrog but I imagine injuries galore for this kid soon and an outstanding career that was never to be.