Athletics: Tom Walsh becomes Diamond League champion

Tom Walsh of New Zealand competes in the men's shot put event at the IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting at Stade de France. Photo / AP.

Tom Walsh has become New Zealand's first male Diamond League track and field champion.

The Kiwi shot putter has trumped the national record he set last weekend in Paris, adding 20cm to win the Zurich event with a 22.20m effort to claim the overall season trophy.

Walsh threw the record mark in the third round of competition and while Olympic champion Ryan Crouser responded in the following round with an effort of 22 metres he couldn't surpass the Kiwi.

The 24-year-old told Radio Sport he felt "on top of the world".

"I told you I had a little bit left in the tank, and I definitely had a bit.

"I had a Diamond League to try and win, and I managed to do that so it's a pretty good feeling, that's for sure.

"[I'm] on top of the world, I've just extended that PB and the New Zealand record by a few, so it's a great feeling and it's awesome to finish off the season well because it's sometimes hard to find motivation, but I definitely had a bit of it after third place in Rio.

"It's awesome. It's going to be a hell of a next four years with the world champs in the next couple of seasons, and there's quite a few young guys on the scene now with Ryan [Crouser] and Joe [Kovacs] and a few other Americans, so it's going to be pretty tough, but it's going to be pretty fun as well."

Walsh finishes the overall season 16 points clear of American Joe Kovacs and nets US$40,000 ($55,000) for winning the trophy.

He joins Valerie Adams as the only New Zealanders to win Diamond League crowns.

Adams won four times from 2011-14, and is set to win a fifth at Brussels next week.