Speaking to Michael Burgess afterwards, Walsh revealed he noticed his leg was stiff lately but today he had “done a number on it.
“I’ve been finding some wee niggles in there for the last month and knew that it [getting injured] was a possibility but I gave it a go,” he said. “I wanted to commit to the throws. I committed to the two throws that I was somewhat healthy on, and then I thought, **** it, give it a go on the last one because I don’t wat to be sitting back there tonight wondering if I could have.
“[I felt it] just before release on that second throw. I’ve done it a few times before so I knew what I had done. It’s definitely been getting better the last couple of months. But when we’re out there doing what we do, we’re pushing the limit and we always know that there is a chance of that stuff happening. I’m just proud of myself that I committed to the throws that I had.
“I still thought that I had a chance to come out here and throw really well today. I threw well yesterday and I wanted to commit to some throws, and that’s what I did. The body just didn’t play ball. But I’ll be back, don’t worry about that.”
After withdrawing, Walsh received hugs from his fellow competitors.
Fellow compatriot Jacko Gill finished in sixth with his third throw his longest, reaching 21.15m.
Meanwhile, sprinter Zoe Hobbs has failed to progress to the women’s 100m final after finishing sixth with a time of 11.13 in the third semifinal. Hobbs looked great early and was sitting third through 60m before tailing off.
It came after one of the world’s greatest sprinters ever, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, withdrew from the second semifinal. The Jamaican sprint legend and eight-time Olympic medallist posted the second fastest time of the heats with an impressive 10.92, just 0.05 seconds behind the heats’ overall pace-setter Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith at the Stade de France.
However, the 37-year-old, who has already said Paris will be her Olympic swansong, has since been listed as DNS - did not start.
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