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Olympian Tom Walsh hasn't forgotten his Timaru roots

August 6, 2021

Timaru Boys’ High School’s Gavin Miller says the humble alumnus won’t say no to a fundraiser.

Tom Walsh did Kiwis proud when he took out another Olympic bronze medal in yesterday’s shot put final in Tokyo, particularly the staff and students of his old school Timaru Boys’ High. 

Gavin Miller, the school’s sports co-ordinator and one of Walsh’s coaches during his teens, told Breakfast it was like the Olympian never really left the school. 

Miller said Walsh remained “really connected” with his community, whether that meant helping out at school or sending in videos for students learning about physics or sports. 

He said there had been times where he’d send Walsh an email asking for help with school fundraisers while he was overseas competing, only to find a reply in his inbox the next day from Walsh saying yes. 

“As somebody with his commitments, that’s impressive,” Miller said. 

Walsh’s personality hadn’t changed too much either since school, he added. He was still the same person: personable, humble, and respectful, “something that a wide range of people in the community take pride in”.

Miller said, for the students, Walsh was an inspiration. 

“It is exciting for them to see somebody that was in the same place as them, where they are now, up on television at something like the Olympics.” 

Walsh, who was diagnosed with dyslexia at seven-years-old, didn’t always find school easy, Miller said. 

Miller said Walsh worked extra hard to keep up his academics, which often meant doing extra work before and after school. 

“It was very ingrained in Tom that whatever he did, he did his best. That included the classroom which, for a boy that had an increasingly high profile throughout the school with his sporting ability, was a positive thing. Other kids noticed that and the staff noticed it.” 

Walsh gave everything a go, whether that was rugby, hockey, or cricket, Miller said. 

“He [became] increasingly able as an athlete. The interesting thing was that Jacko Gill was such a phenomenon at school, even though he was younger than Tom, the focus was on Jacko. 

“But, Tom kept working quietly at it and kept improving and bridging that gap.” 

WATCH THE OLYMPICS: TVNZ 1 and TVNZ OnDemand feature 12 hours of free-to-air action focussed on Kiwi athletes each afternoon and evening, while Sky TV has Olympics coverage across 12 channels and streaming platforms.

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