Maddi Wesche: Olympic Silver medallist on her success in the women's shot put

Maddison-Lee Wesche claimed the silver medal in a thrilling women’s shot put final at the Paris 2024 Olympics this morning.  

Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany emerged as the ultimate champion, but not before a nail-biting battle with Wesche for the top spot.  

For most of the final, Wesche held the lead. However, Ogunleye had a remarkable final round throw, stealing the lead from the Kiwi athlete. 

Piney caught up with Wesche for a chat about her incredible achievement. 

She told him that she’s pretty happy, liking the feeling of throwing a personal best at the Olympics and getting a silver medal, though she would’ve liked the gold. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Here is was she final throw into her work that
shoots as well? We wait, we watch, but twice now
she's responded Maddie Wishy or has she no?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Is the answer?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Nineteen six eight on first Look at Look Big but
not big Enough? Maddi Wishy wins silver in the women's shotput,
and she is New Zealand's new shot put queen on
the podium.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Shot Maddie has silver for Maddie Wish. She in the
shot put this morning. She led up until round five
when the eventual gold medalist out of Germany threw further
than her. She pulled out the personal best and then
it was the German athlete again who threw twenty meters.
Maddi Wish she not quite able to reach that mark,
but silver it is and a new personal best. Let's

(01:06):
bring in Maddie Wish. How are you feeling a silver
a PB With a few hours of reflection.

Speaker 4 (01:14):
I'm pretty happy, you know. I like this feeling throwing
a pebe at the Olympics and getting a silver medal,
though I would have liked the gold. Yeah, these are
the moments. These are the reasons why I do the sport.
Being in such high and intense moments and such a
competitive field, and in Paris at the Olympics. Yeah, it's

(01:34):
a bit surreal, right now.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Did you think you'd won it with your nineteen eighty six?

Speaker 4 (01:41):
I didn't, you know going into this predictions with that
woman's shot, we're going to be one with her twenty meters.
So I knew that someone was going to pop think big,
and knew me was the one to do it, and
unfortunately I couldn't pull throughund the end.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
But what an incredible was the fifth round, wasn't it?
She threw it out there and said, hey, laid down
the challenge for you. You pulled out the big nineteen eighty six. Well,
can you just reflect on that moment?

Speaker 4 (02:05):
For us? I had a bit of nerves going into
that fifth throw, knowing that, you know, I'd kind of
been perped and I needed to get my spot back,
and yeah, it's kind of muscle. Mean, we took over
and training worked, and yeah, and here we are.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
I was going to ask about that, how much did
you rely on your prep and trust your processes today?

Speaker 4 (02:31):
One hundred percent? The whole way through was me trusting
the process. My team worked so hard to get me
on this big stage and help me achieve some pretty
big dreams, And yeah it was it was all trust
the process and training had been going well and qualifiers
work to get the big Q was good confidence. So yeah,
it was this is everything is prep work.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yeah, smashing out the nineteen two five to automatically qualify.
How pleased were you to be able to do that? Yesterday?

Speaker 4 (03:01):
Super happy to be able to get the big que
and qualifications my first big queue. Usually I'm down at
the bottom of the ranks, and then in the finals
I'm kind of stuck in the lower part of top eight,
and so to be amongst the top girls and such
a competitive time and woman's shot put, yep. Super trussed.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
You always look so relaxed. Many is that part of
your secret?

Speaker 4 (03:25):
I think so. I think it's just a part of
who I am. I try not to take things too seriously,
and at the end of the day, this is just
sport and there's a lot of things that are bigger
than this. So to be able to do my passion
and to travel the world, yep, can't be. Can't be
too stressed and can't be too big headed about anything.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
Well, I mean the other part is that you encourage
the other throwers as well. I don't think I've ever
seen that you're you're geeing up those who are who
you're you're throwing against. It's an incredible thing that you do.
We were all doing it.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
It wasn't just me. And that's at every single competition,
we're all cheering for each other beat you do your best,
and then you can beat the best and and then
that's the great competition. And that's why women's shotput at
the moment is so competitive. And not only are they
amazing people, but they make the infield so much and
so much more enjoyable when we can both banta and

(04:19):
compete as strong, powerful woman.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Where do you assess that we're shotputters right now? Are
we looking at some twenty one twenty two's in the
not too distant future?

Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yeah? I reckon. We've got so many women on the
cusp of twenty one meters and once you're at twenty one,
then you're twenty two, and then the world records in
the the arena, So why not?

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Why not? And no lucky sunglasses needed today? But at
the start. Was that was that challenging? Was it challenging?

Speaker 4 (04:47):
And the first though it was a little bit, I
didn't grab my footing as I'd like to. But living
in Auckland and training at Wytak, there's weather changes within
five minutes, so I was prepared for the wet and
the slippery circle. So it wasn't that much of a
hassle or or a mind kind of block. Yeah, I
just trusted the process again and knew what I needed

(05:09):
to do, and.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Just to finish. I know I read that You've got
basically well, I don't know if it's all your family, but
you had to hire a lot of dogs that is
back here to look after your dogs because everybody was
going to be embarrassed. Did you feel your family support today?
I did.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Saw my sisters and in the front row, and I
could I was laughing and sharing with them along with
the whole competition. So to be able to see them
in the stands and for them to be here as
huge and I wouldn't be able to do this without
my team. And yeah, I definitely missed my dogs. And
I've still got a few more comps to go. I
am excited to go home and see my bulldog.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Well, you've added superbly to the tremendous legacy and shot
put for New Zealand. Maddie. Everyone back here was just
just enthralled watching you throw at breakfast time out of time. Congratulations,
Thank you so much for taking the time for a chat.
Thank you, Thanks Maddie Madison Lee Wishi. There a new
star of shot put. Yeah, I just I was. I

(06:10):
was enthralled watching that this morning. And just the way
that she carries herself, Maddi Wishy. You know she's just
so relaxed, so key. We I love it him. And
maybe that is part of the secret that if you
do get too intense and you start really, you know,
tying yourself up in knots, maybe that's where things all
fall apart. That certainly didn't look to be the case

(06:30):
with Maddie Wishy this morning. Delighted to see her pick
up a medal and continue the amazing record that Dame
Valerie Adams had medals in two thousand and eight, twenty twelve,
twenty sixteen, and in twenty twenty one, and now Maddie
Wishy as well. So somebody said earlier in the week
to me with when Tom Walsh and Jack O'Gill didn't
get on the podium in the men's shop. Pot Oh,

(06:52):
it's going to be the first Olympics for a while.
We haven't had somebody on the shot put part him.
I said, hey, don't forget about Maddi wishy am. I
going to say that now. Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but man,
how

Speaker 1 (07:02):
Good For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Faine, some
live to news talks It B weekends from midday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.