Kiwi shot put sensation Jacko Gill will miss next year's Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast, after suffering a life threatening heart scare.
Gill, 22, woke up with a pain in his chest and forearm two weeks ago, leading to an eight day stint in hospital, he told NZME.
Doctors confirmed that Gill was experiencing myocarditis, inflammation of that heart that hinders the ability to pump blood around the body.
"I looked it up on the internet, which probably wasn't a good idea, and found a stat that said that. It was a bit worrying in hospital but I'm extremely grateful to be here and happy to be alive," Gill told NZME.
"I was lost for words when I got those results. It was a shock. I wasn't really expecting anything but I wanted to get it checked out just to be safe. To have significant heart damage at my age is a bit worrying but there are other high performance athletes it happens to. It's just bad luck. It's been a bit of a shock these past two weeks."
The young shot put star will miss six months of competition, giving himself time to recover properly.
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