Jacko Gill is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and is best known as the youngest male athlete in history to win gold at the World Junior Championships.
He achieved that record-breaking title at just 15 years old in 2010, then defended it two years later, and has since competed at multiple Olympic Games and World Championships while representing New Zealand at the elite level.
Who is Jacko Gill?
Jacko Gill, full name Jackson Gill, is a right-handed shot putter from Auckland who uses the spin technique.
He holds the world youth record of 24.45 metres with the 5 kg shot, set in 2011, and the world U20 record of 23.00 metres with the 6 kg shot, set in 2013, which still stood as of 2026.
He became the first male New Zealand athlete to win gold at both the World Youth and World Junior Championships.
No other New Zealand man had done that before him in athletics.
His career has featured both historic highs and serious setbacks, including a groin tear in 2017, a foot fracture before the 2016 Rio Olympics, and a diagnosis of myocarditis, a life-threatening heart inflammation, in December 2017 that kept him out of competition for eight months.
Since returning from those challenges, Gill won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, finished seventh at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and claimed gold at the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin.
Early Life of Jacko Gill
Jacko Gill was born on December 20, 1994, in Auckland, New Zealand, and grew up in the Takapuna area on the North Shore of the city. His family background in athletics runs deep.
His father, Walter Gill, is a former discus thrower and two-time national shot put champion. His mother, Nerida, competed in discus. His sister Ayla also represented New Zealand in discus and hammer throw.
Jacko began throwing at about age nine after his father set up an outdoor area at home for practice.
The family regularly held informal sports days together, and those early throwing sessions planted the seed for his career.
He has said that his athletic hero was Swedish discus thrower Ricky Bruch, a former world record holder, and the two spoke frequently before Bruch’s death in May 2011.
His natural talent emerged quickly. By the time he was 14, he had set world age-14 bests with the 5 kg shot (20.42 metres) and the 6 kg shot (17.41 metres).
Jacko Gill Age / Birthday
Jacko Gill is 31 years old as of 2026, born on December 20, 1994. His birthday falls in December, so it has not yet passed as of September 11, 2026, meaning he will turn 32 in December 2026.
His zodiac sign is Sagittarius, a sign often associated with a quest for achievement and wide-ranging ambition.
He remains active at the international level and continues to compete for New Zealand.
Jacko Gill Ethnicity and Nationality
Jacko holds New Zealand nationality and was born and raised in Auckland.
He competes under the New Zealand flag at all major international events, including the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and World Championships.
His family has deep roots in New Zealand athletics across multiple generations.
Jacko Gill Height and Weight
Jacko stands at 1.90 metres, or 6 feet 3 inches, in height. His competition weight has been listed at 118 kg (260 lbs).
His build is typical for an elite shot putter: powerful upper body, strong legs, and the core stability required to generate maximum rotational force with the spin technique.
Jacko Gill Education
Jacko attended Takapuna Grammar School in Auckland until 2010.
His departure from the school coincided with his breakout year at the international level, when he won the World Junior Championships title in Moncton, Canada.
He trained under coach Didier Poppé during those early championship-winning years.
Jacko Gill Career
Youth Dominance and World Records (2009–2013)
Jacko first drew international attention in late 2009 at age 14, throwing world age-group bests in both the 5 kg and 6 kg shot. Those performances signalled what was coming.
In 2010, he entered the World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, at the age of 15 years and 213 days and won gold with a throw of 20.76 metres.
That victory made him the youngest male gold medalist in the history of the IAAF World Junior Championships, surpassing Usain Bolt, who had been 15 years and 332 days old when he won the 200 metres at the 2002 edition.
That same year, he won gold at both the shot put and discus throw at the Oceania Youth Championships in Sydney, and claimed silver at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore with a throw of 22.60 metres.
In December 2010, he set a world youth (under-18) best of 23.86 metres at the New Zealand National Secondary Schools Championships.
At the 2011 World Youth Championships in Lille, France, he won gold by more than four metres, throwing 24.35 metres for a World Youth Best Performance.
He later improved that to 24.45 metres in Auckland in December 2011, which stood as the world youth record.
In April 2011, at just 16 years old, he threw 20.01 metres with the senior 7.26 kg shot, breaking the 44-year-old New Zealand national senior record set by Les Mills in 1967.
At the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Gill defended his title with a throw of 22.20 metres, becoming a back-to-back World Junior champion.
In August 2013, he threw 23.00 metres in Auckland with the 6 kg shot, setting the world junior record that still stood years later.
Senior Career and Olympic Campaigns (2014–2021)
Gill won gold at the 2014 Oceania Championships in Rarotonga with a personal best of 20.70 metres. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, he placed 11th.
In 2015, he finished eighth at the World Championships in Beijing with a throw of 20.11 metres.
The following year, a foot fracture forced him to manage his preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Despite the injury, he competed at the Games.
In late 2017, shortly before his 23rd birthday, Gill revealed he had contracted myocarditis, a heart inflammation caused by a viral infection.
His cardiologist, Rob Doughty, persuaded him to stop competing entirely. He took eight months away from training and competition to recover.
After returning in 2019, he won gold at the Oceania Championships in Townsville and qualified for the World Championships in Doha. He competed in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics, held in 2021.
Birmingham Silver and Paris Olympics (2022–2024)
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Gill won the silver medal in shot put. Teammate Tom Walsh took gold with 22.26 metres, while Gill’s throw earned him second place.
His old school, Takapuna Grammar School, celebrated the result publicly. He set his senior personal best of 22.12 metres on March 16, 2023, at the New Zealand Athletics Championships in Auckland, winning the national title.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gill competed in the men’s shot put final and finished seventh.
He had been managing an ankle injury through the lead-up to the Games and during the competition.
In early 2025, opening his season at the Sir Graeme Douglas International Meet in Auckland despite still restricting his throwing to once a week due to the ankle issue.
He beat rival Tom Walsh with a series that included four throws over 21 metres, winning with 21.85 metres.
In May 2026, Gill won gold at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, Australia, throwing 19.97 metres to edge teammate Nick Palmer, who threw 19.85 metres.
Jacko Gill Career Stats and Records
| Achievement | Distance / Result | Year |
|---|---|---|
| World Youth Best (5 kg) | 24.45 m | 2011 |
| World Junior Record (6 kg) | 23.00 m | 2013 |
| Senior Personal Best (7.26 kg) | 22.12 m | 2023 |
| NZ National Record (age 16) | 20.01 m | 2011 |
| 2022 Commonwealth Games Silver | 2nd place | 2022 |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | 7th place | 2024 |
| 2026 Oceania Championships Gold | 19.97 m | 2026 |
His World Athletics profile credits him with four top-8 finishes at World Championships and one top-8 at the Olympic Games.
Jacko Gill Awards and Championships
Gill’s major titles and medals at international competition include:
- Gold, World Junior Championships, Moncton (2010)
- Silver, Summer Youth Olympics, Singapore (2010)
- Gold, World Youth Championships, Lille (2011)
- Gold, World Junior Championships, Barcelona (2012)
- Gold, Oceania Athletics Championships, Rarotonga (2014)
- Gold, Oceania Athletics Championships, Townsville (2019)
- Silver, Commonwealth Games, Birmingham (2022)
- Gold, Oceania Athletics Championships, Darwin (2026)
Jacko Gill Partner
Jacko Gill’s partner is Monica Chau. The NZ Herald featured the couple together ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, describing them sitting side by side in the garden of the Gill family home in Devonport, Auckland.
Chau has also been photographed with Gill during training sessions at AUT Millennium, the high-performance sport facility in Auckland.
Her presence at both his home base and training environment shows she plays a close and active role in his day-to-day athletic life.
Gill has spoken publicly about the importance of his support network in getting through difficult periods of his career, including his recovery from myocarditis in 2017 and the isolation he felt at the Tokyo Olympics when family and partners were not permitted to attend.
Jacko Gill Net Worth
Jacko Gill’s estimated net worth is $5 million as of 2026. His income over a career spanning more than 15 years comes primarily from Athletics New Zealand funding, competition prize money, and sponsorships.
New Zealand athletes in Olympic sports receive annual Performance Enhancement Grants from High Performance Sport New Zealand.
These taxable grants have ranged from $60,000 for top performers down to $30,000 for those ranked in the world’s top 12, and they also provide access to coaches, sports science, nutrition, and physiotherapy support.
His training videos on social media and YouTube attracted a large online audience during his earlier career, with his “chilli man” training highlight reels going viral internationally.
That online presence built a platform that supported commercial interest from within the athletics and sports equipment community.
Jacko Gill Social Media
Jacko is active on Instagram at @jackogill, where he posts training content, competition updates, and behind-the-scenes footage.
His training videos have drawn significant attention over the years, including clips of unusual athletic feats that went viral in the athletics community.
He also maintains a presence on Facebook and has posted on X (Twitter) throughout his career.
His social media audience includes followers from the New Zealand athletics scene and the wider international throwing community.
Conclusion
Jacko Gill became the youngest male World Junior champion in history at 15, defended that title two years later, and has continued competing at the highest international level for more than fifteen years despite serious injuries and a life-threatening heart condition.
His 2026 Oceania gold in Darwin showed he remained a competitive force well into his senior career.