Jacko Gill starts his London 2012 campaign today with a competition to attempt to better the Olympic shot put qualifying standard.
It is the first of three competitions over three consecutive Mondays that will see Gill targeting key performances with three different age group shot put weights before he turns 17 on December 20.
Tonight at Sovereign Stadium at Auckland's Mairangi Bay starting at 5pm, the current world under-20 and under-18 champion will be aiming for the standard set by the selectors of 20.30m with the 7.26kg senior weight.
Gill has only had two serious competitions with the senior implement and with both attempts he has set World age bests. His first was throwing 18.57m in October 2010 as a 15-year-old and the second in April this year, a mighty effort of 20.01 metres, surpassing the New Zealand record of Les Mills, set in 1967.
The field will also include New Zealand's second ranked shot putter Tom Walsh who has a best of 18.26 metres.
