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Dame Valerie Kasanita AdamsDNZM (formerlyVili; born 6 October 1984) is a retired New Zealandshot putter. She is a four-timeWorld champion, four-timeWorld Indoor champion, two-timeOlympic, three-timeCommonwealth Games champion and twiceIAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres (69.7 ft) outdoors and 20.98 metres (68.8 ft) indoors. These marks areOceanian,Commonwealth andNew Zealand national records. She also holds theOceanian junior record (18.93 m) and theOceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as theWorld Championships record,World Indoor Championships record andCommonwealth Games record.
Adams was the third woman to win world championships at theyouth,junior, and senior level of anathletics event, following the feats ofYelena Isinbayeva andJana Pittman. She was the first woman to win four consecutive individual titles at the IAAF World Championships. Adams had a winning streak that extended to 56 wins at elite-level competitions, which started in August 2010 and ended in July 2015.[2] She was theIAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2014 and theTrack & Field News Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2013. She had the longest shot put performance of the season every year from 2006 to 2014, bar 2008 when she was second toNatallia Mikhnevich (later banned for doping that year).
Adams won silver medals at the2012 Summer Olympics (amended to a gold after prior winnerNadzeya Astapchuk was disqualified for doping),2016 Summer Olympics,2005 World Championships in Athletics, and the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2018. She was also a bronze medallist at the2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. While still a teenager, Adams was a finalist at the2003 World Championships in Athletics and the2004 Summer Olympics. Adams is one of eleven athletes (along withUsain Bolt,Veronica Campbell-Brown,Armand Duplantis,Jacques Freitag,Yelena Isinbayeva,Kirani James,Faith Kipyegon,Jana Pittman,Dani Samuels, andDavid Storl) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.
At national level, she has won fifteen shot put titles at theNew Zealand Athletics Championships between 2001 and 2018, as well as having ahammer throw national title in 2003. Adams also won four times at theAustralian Athletics Championships between 2004 and 2008. From 2006 to 2012 she was chosen as theNew Zealand Sportswoman of the Year seven times consecutively and has been awarded theLonsdale Cup on five occasions in recognition as the leading national athlete in an Olympic sport.
Adams retired from athletics competition in 2022. In that year she was appointed to the board ofHigh Performance Sport New Zealand, and was the subject of the documentaryDame Valerie Adams: More than Gold.
In 1998 Adams met formerjavelin throwerKirsten Hellier, who would become her coach for the next 11 years. Adams first came to prominence when winning theWorld Youth Championships in 2001, with a throw of 16.87 m. She followed this up in 2002 by becomingWorld Junior champion, throwing 17.73 m, and gained her first international senior placing with the silver medal at theCommonwealth Games, throwing 17.45 m.
She finished fifth at the2003 World Championships at eighteen years of age. At her firstOlympics in 2004, Adams finishedseventh (after two athletes' subsequent disqualification), while still recovering from anappendectomy she had just weeks before the competition.
The following year Adams finished third at theWorld Championships with a personal best throw of 19.87 m. When the original winner,Nadzeya Astapchuk, was disqualified following a 2013 retest of her drug sample from the competition that was found to be positive, Adams' original bronze medal was upgraded to silver.[3] Adams originally finished second at theWorld Athletics Final in 2005, but was promoted to gold after Astapchuk's results were annulled.[4] At the2006 Commonwealth Games Adams won thegold medal, breaking the 20-year-old Commonwealth Games record of 19.00 m with a throw of 19.66 m.
In 2007, Adams went to theOsakaWorld Championships as a favourite to take a medal due to her being one of only three women to throw over 20 m before the championships. In qualifying, Adams led the field with a throw of 19.45 m. Adams held second place behindNadzeya Astapchuk throughout the final, but responded well in the last round with a mammoth throw and Commonwealth record of 20.54 m to take the gold. This made Adams one of few female athletes ever to take IAAF[5] World Titles at youth, junior and senior level.[6]
In 2008 Adams broke the Oceania record in winning her firstWorld Indoor Title inValencia (20.19 m). At theBeijing Olympics, she qualified for the final with the longest distance thrown, 19.73 metres, on her first attempt. She won the gold with a throw of 20.56 m, a personal best, beatingBelarusian throwerNatallia Mikhnevich. It was the first Olympic gold medal in track and field for New Zealand sinceJohn Walker won the 1500 metre race in1976. She also won the New Zealand Sports Award of the year in 2008.
At the 2009 Grande Prêmio Rio in Brazil Adams won the competition with a new personal best andOceanian area record of 20.69 m. The throw was also the world leading distance for the event.[7] In August, Adams won at the2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin with a throw of 20.44 metres, ahead of the GermanNadine Kleinert andGong Lijiao of China.
At the2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships Adams was defeated byNadzeya Astapchuk by a large margin, in spite of the New Zealander setting a continental record of 20.49 m.[8] Adams announced on 28 March 2010 that she would no longer be coached by Kirsten Hellier after an 11-year partnership.[9] In April 2010 she announced her new coach was Didier Poppe.[10]
Adams was consistently beaten by Nadzeya Astapchuk in the big meetings that season. She set a meeting record and season's best of 20.37 m at theAthletics Bridge meet in Slovakia, later saying that a change in her technique that April had begun to pay dividends.[11]
Later that season she won at the2010 IAAF Continental Cup with a season's best mark of 20.85 m and also competed at theCommonwealth Games in New Delhi, where she set aGames record mark of 20.47 m to retain her title. In late 2010 Jean-Pierre Egger took over as her coach from Poppe.[12]
Adams won the2011 World Championships equalling the championship record 21.24 met byNatalya Lisovskaya in 1987.[13] At the2012 World Indoor Championships Adams won the competition with a throw of 20.54 m, a new indoors personal best.[14]
Adams originally won the silver medal at the2012 London Olympics[15] but was promoted to the gold medal after the initial Olympic champion,Nadzeya Astapchuk, failed two drug tests, one a day before the event and the second on the day of the event.[16]
The Belarusian Ostapchuk tested positive for metenolone which is classified as an anabolic agent on the list of banned substances.[16] Adams later recounted how she initially believed Chef de MissionDave Currie was "telling fibs" upon being told the news.[17] She received the gold medal from the New Zealand Governor-General, SirJerry Mateparae, at a special ceremony in Auckland on 19 September 2012.
Adams won her fourth world championship gold at the2013 World Championships games in Moscow in August 2013.[18] Her fourth gold medal surpassedAstrid Kumbernuss for most all time by a female shotputter and made her the first woman to win four straight titles in an event at the competition.[19] On 27 September, Adams underwent surgery on her left ankle and right knee,[20] and in March 2014 won her thirdworld indoor championship atSopot in Poland with a distance of 20.67 m. Her gold medal at the2014 Commonwealth Games, where she was New Zealand's flag-bearer, was her 54th consecutive event win; the streak began in August 2010.[21]
Injury caused Adams to withdraw from an attempted defence of her shot put title at the2014 IAAF Continental Cup and she was ruled out for most of 2015 season for the same reason. During this period she underwent surgeries on her shoulder and elbow in late 2014 and returned for a further operational on her knee in August 2015.[22]
Adams finished second inshot put at the2016 Summer Olympics with a distance of 20.42 m. She was beaten byMichelle Carter who had a personal best of 20.63 m with her last put of the competition.[23]
In the2017 New Year Honours, Adams was named a Dame Companion of theNew Zealand Order of Merit.[24] She skipped the entire track and field that season due to pregnancy.
Adams came in second in theshot put at the2018 Commonwealth Games on theGold Coast, Australia, with a seasonal best put of 18.70 m.[25]
Adams won her fourth Olympic medal in July 2021, at the2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning a bronze medal with a best put of 19.62 metres (64.4 ft).[26]
Adams announced her retirement from athletics competition on 1 March 2022, but will continue to coachLisa Adams.[27] In October 2022, the documentary filmDame Valerie Adams: More than Gold was released in New Zealand cinemas, depicting Adams' childhood, sporting career and the lead-up to the 2020 Summer Olympics.[28]
In 2022 Adams was appointed to the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand.[29] As at 2023 Adams is serving her third term on the World Athletics Athletes' Commission.[30] In 2019 she was elected deputy chair of the Commission and in 2023 was elected chairperson.[30] She is also serving as chairperson of the Oceania Athletics Athletes' Commission.[30]
Adams was born inRotorua, New Zealand, to aTongan mother (Lilika Ngauamo)[31] and an English father (Sydney Adams).[32] Her father, who settled in New Zealand after service in theRoyal Navy, had a total of eighteen children with five women.[33] She inherited her height from her father, who measures 2.10 metres or 6 feet 11 inches, while her mother was only (1.55 metres or 5 feet 1 inch).[34] Adams' youngest sibling isNational Basketball Association playerSteven Adams, and her two other brothers playedprofessional basketball in New Zealand.[33] Their sister,Lisa Adams, is a retiredparalympic champion shot-putter and discus thrower who hascerebral palsy.[35]
Adams was married toBertrand Vili, adiscus thrower fromNew Caledonia.[36][37] They used French as their main language[34] and married in 2004 and divorced in early 2010.[38] Adams married Gabriel Price, a friend since childhood, atTemple View in Hamilton on 2 April 2016.[39][40] The couple have two children: a daughter born in 2017 and a son.[41][42] In 2023, Adams announced her separation from Price after nearly seven years of marriage.[43]
She is a member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[44]
| Event | Mark | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shot put outdoor | 21.24 m | 29 August 2011 | Daegu, South Korea | ARNR |
| Shot put indoor | 20.98 m | 28 August 2013 | Zürich, Switzerland | ARNR |
| Discus throw | 58.12 m | 31 March 2004 | Wanganui, New Zealand | |
| Hammer throw | 58.32 m | 6 April 2002 | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Season | Outdoor | Rank | Indoor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 18.81 | 4th | |
| 2019 | — | — | |
| 2018 | 19.31 | 7th | |
| 2017 | — | — | |
| 2016 | 20.42 | 3rd | 19.25 |
| 2015 | 18.79 | 13th | |
| 2014 | 20.59 | 1st | 20.67 |
| 2013 | 20.90 | 1st | 20.98 |
| 2012 | 21.11 | 1st | 20.81 |
| 2011 | 21.24 | 1st | 20.51 |
| 2010 | 20.86 | 1st | 20.49 |
| 2009 | 21.07 | 1st | |
| 2008 | 20.56 | 2nd | 20.19 |
| 2007 | 20.54 | 1st | |
| 2006 | 20.20 | 1st | |
| 2005 | 19.87 | 3rd | |
| 2004 | 19.29 | 8th | 18.22 |
| 2003 | 18.93 | 14th | |
| 2002 | 18.40 | 20th | |
| 2001 | 17.08 | 68th | |
| 2000 | 15.72 | — | |
| 1999 | 14.15 | — |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | World Youth Championships | Debrecen, Hungary | 1st | 16.87 m |
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 1st | 17.73 m |
| Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 2nd | 17.45 m | |
| World Cup | Madrid, Spain | 6th | 18.40 m | |
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 5th | 18.65 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 7th | 18.56 m |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 2nd | 19.62 m |
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 1st | 19.66 mGR |
| World Cup | Athens, Greece | 1st | 19.87 m | |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 1st | 20.54 m |
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 1st | 20.19 m |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | 20.56 m | |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 20.44 m |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 1st | 20.49 m |
| Commonwealth Games | New Delhi, India | 1st | 20.47 mGR | |
| Continental Cup | Split, Croatia | 1st | 20.86 m | |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 1st | 21.24 mCR |
| 2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 1st | 20.54 m |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 20.70 m | |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 1st | 20.88 m |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 1st | 20.67 mCR |
| Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 1st | 19.88 m | |
| 2016 | World Indoor Championships | Portland, United States | 3rd | 19.25 m |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2nd | 20.42 m | |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 2nd | 18.70 m |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 3rd | 19.62 m |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New Zealand's Sportswoman of the Year 2006–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Halberg Awards – Supreme Award 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Women'sTrack & Field Athlete of the Year 2012–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lonsdale Cup 2006–2007 2011 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
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World Indoor Champions in women'sshot put | |
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Commonwealth Games champions in women'sshot put | |
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World Athlete of the Year (women) | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
