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The world stage awaits Connor Bell, the Waitoki discus thrower who recently earned his spot in the New Zealand athletics team for the Paris Olympics – setting a new national record in the process.
On April 14, the 22-year-old broke his own national record with a 68.10 metre throw at a meet at Ramona, Oklahoma. The distance well exceeded the 67.20m mark needed to compete against the world’s best in the Stade de France in August.
That same competition in Oklahoma saw Lithuania’s Mykolos Alekna throw 74.35m, breaking a world record that had held since 1986. It was a reminder, if one was needed, of what Bell and other contenders face in Paris.
Bell knows the 21-year-old Alekna well and did not seem daunted at the prospect of his first Olympics when Hibiscus Matters caught up with him in Silverdale last week.
“The Olympics is a big deal – it’s the pinnacle event for athletics. But, if you take that out of the equation, it’s essentially the same competition as the World Champs. The same people will be there, the same activity, heaps of people cheering in the stands.”
The memories of his debut World Championships in Budapest last year are still fresh. Bell became the first NZ man to make the discus final on that stage, and finished in tenth place.
After missing out – by two quota spots – on competing in the Tokyo Olympics, he is raring to go this year.
“I’m focused on having a really positive Olympics experience,” he said. “I’ll essentially be running my own race, focusing on the things that I need to do, to do the best that I can. That is what is going to result in the best possible performance.”
Training through May will be followed by travel to Montenegro to acclimatise before heading to Nice and then to the training base camp at Montpellier. The men’s discus qualification is scheduled for the morning of August 5, with the final two nights later.
“My approach is, we leave nothing in the tank. My goal is, first, to make the final, and then to do as well as I can.”
Growing up on his family’s 10-hectare lifestyle block, the young Connor attended tiny Waitoki School – he can still recite the names of every teacher he had – before moving from a school with a total roll of around 63 to a North Shore intermediate heaving with 1000 students.
It was a “tough transition” for a lad viewed by peers as a socially awkward “country bumpkin”.
“I had a hard time finding my place at Northcross,” he recalled. “But towards the end of my time there I picked up a discus, and that’s where things took off.”
And take off they did. Bell joined Bays Athletics where “a wonderful woman”, Sasha Pilkington, fostered his passion for discus. He took the national under-17 title in 2017, and currently holds the NZ U-17, U-18, U-19, U-20 and open records.
Now, with Paris beckoning, when not training at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health (MISH) in Rosedale, he can occasionally be found throwing at Metro Park.
“I love throwing at MISH, but to be 100 percent honest it’s a lot nicer to come out to the park at Millwater on a Sunday evening and chuck some discs,” he said. “It’s also a little more peaceful when you’re away from a training space with all that external mental noise. I prefer throwing in places that make me feel super happy.”
Bell said a tibia injury from a dirt bike accident in 2021 was a setback but also helped him to adjust his perspective.
“It’s very hard to expect world-class performances when you’re depressed or sad or angry. Your mind’s not in the right space to perform really well.
“I’ve learned that my attitude has a significant impact on my performance. I’m getting great results now, but I’m not worried so much about doing well as I am about making the most of the opportunities I have. People do their best when they’re feeling their best.
“I love discus throwing,” Bell said. “But I also love where those performances take me – the places I get to visit, the stories, the memories and the life-enriching experiences.”
