Celebrities set to heft the shot put

All Blacks strongman Brad Thorn will be putting his power to the test against a celebrity shot put field featuring his Crusaders team-mate Thomas Waldrom in Christchurch next week.

The rugby forwards – who both have schoolboy shot putting form – and New Zealand women's cricket international Kate Pulford will step into the circle at the International Track Meet at QE II Stadium next Thursday.

"The [celebrity] event is an innovative one, and was a crowd pleaser last year," meet organiser Paul Coughlan said.

"We've got Olympic and Commonwealth games representatives, Paralympians and secondary schools athletes and other sporting heroes taking part."

The Paralympians will put a 3kg shot, senior women 4kg, junior men 6kg and the senior men heavyweights like Thorn and Waldrom will have to heft 7.26kg.

Coughlan said Thorn competed in the shot put at school and he predicted his strongest competition would come from New Zealand junior record holder Tom Walsh, who has thrown the 6kg shot more than 20m and the 7.26kg senior shot 17.57m.

Wellingtonian Waldrom will be back in the same athletics arena as schoolboy contemporary Nick Willis – the star turn of the international meet. Willis, the Beijing Olympic Games 1500m silver medallist, and Waldrom were in schoolboy level athletics teams at home in the Hutt Valley.

The Crusaders No8 specialised in shot put, hammer throw and discus.

Cricketer Pulford also competed in athletics as a child although she told Coughlan she has not thrown a shot put since the age of seven.

If the celebrity throwers need any technical tuition they can turn to Olympic Games heptathlete Rebecca Wardell, who is competing in the women's category, or Commonwealth Games decathlete Brent Newdick.

"The fact that all of these sporting stars from other codes have come from a background of athletics, as all kids probably have at some point, is one of the reasons why the International Track Meet is such an important fixture on the Canterbury sporting calendar," Coughlan said.

- © Fairfax NZ News