Tom Walsh: Sport, balance and the non-traditional path

Tom Walsh is one of the most successful, and perhaps one of the most liked, Kiwi athletes of all time. He’s a world champion shotputter and Olympic medallist, as well as a down-to-earth character who hasn’t been afraid to do things his way.

 

This episode of What I Know Now puts a bunch of sporting issues under the microscope, such as specialisation and the popularity of mainstream sports. Tom is down to earth, bringing a valuable perspective on a lot of the big issues in school sport in New Zealand.

 

School Sport CEO Mike Summerell and Tom talk about:

 

• Why he gets frustrated hearing kids are being forced to specialise in sports from a young age
• How he favoured rugby and cricket over athletics for quite a long time
• How playing sport helped his social life when he moved from Timaru to Christchurch
• Being tempted to play a more mainstream sport, and why he ended up going with athletics
• Why he thinks we tie too much importance to rugby
• How sport has grown his self-awareness and ability to check himself sometimes
• The perspective and learning and value he’s gained from losing

This is a great all-round episode that touches on the many different values of sport, and how to get the most benefit from it.