She’s been the dominant force in world shot put for almost 20 years and now New Zealand superstar Dame Valerie Adams is aiming for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal, just months after the birth of her daughter.
Adams is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, four-time world champion and amazingly went undefeated in major world competition for almost nine years – an incredible streak of 107 competitions.
Her love affair with the sport started when she was 14 and she broke the school record which had stood for 20 years. Adams broke it barefoot.
Two years later – at just 16 – she was the national champion and world u18s champion where she broke the championship record for good measure.
But shot put and the world of athletics was an escape for Adams, who was bullied at school. Hard to believe that the 1.93m Kiwi colossus was once a shy and timid kid.
“Athletics was somewhere I felt normal,” Adams told GC2018.com.
“I got bullied at school because I was so tall, kids called me every name under the sun.
“Athletics I felt normal, I was successful, I did very well. This was my playing field. I didn’t have to try to be a certain person, I was just me. That got me out of my shell eventually.
“I love the fact it is an individual sport, because I am a team player, but it would really piss me off if somebody in the team wasn’t working as hard as I was. Shot put was the right calling for me. If I didn’t do well, I knew it was my fault. If I didn’t put in 100 percent, it was my fault.”
Adams made her Commonwealth Games debut in 2002 in Manchester, with the then 17-year-old claiming the silver medal, just 8cm short of first place.
Her talent and her drive to win have been a hallmark of her career from the very beginning.
But her ability to learn from her experiences and grow might be the key to her success.
“The Village life, the Opening Ceremony, it can be quite overwhelming if you are young, because you want to experience everything, but it is quite tiring,” she said.
“I think Manchester set me up for the rest of the Games I would compete in. I learned so much from that experience.
“I was shy and quite timid as a 17-year-old. In 2002 I was at the junior championships in Jamaica and then a week later I was at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
“It was an amazing experience for me because it gave me a taste of what international athletics was all about. From there I went to the world championships and then the Olympics.”
The 14-time New Zealand champion has had her share of tough times in a career spanning almost two decades. But those tough times have shaped her and inspired her to keep going at an elite level.
It is why she is still throwing today.
“2010 I had a rough year,” she said.
“I finished with my long term coach, I got divorced, I had a lot of changes and it could have made or broken me.
“It was probably the best thing to happen to me, because it gave me the second wind going forward. I changed coach to Jean-Pierre Egger and within six months of being with him, I threw a PB, won a world champs and went back a year after that and won the Olympic Games.
“Having that change in my life was necessary to keep moving on and to continue to succeed. I was actually already an Olympic champion when I went to JP, it is very hard to redevelop or to continue to develop someone who is already developed, but he was able to do that.
“It was a massive reboot.”
Adams gave birth to her daughter Kimoana just four months ago, and while the experience has profoundly changed her outlook, it hasn’t diminished her drive or passion to compete.
If anything, it gives her extra motivation heading into another Commonwealth Games.
Adams believes her daughter would give victory at GC2018 extra special meaning. The dream result would be a gold medal in one hand and her daughter cradled in the other.
“It will definitely make the moment more special to win a medal with my daughter,” she said.”
I’ve been to four Olympics now, this will be my fifth Commonwealth Games. I know it will come to an end soon.
“I have to work as hard as I can, enjoy it as much as I can, keep smiling. Once it is over, it is done and dusted. Hopefully I can inspire young athletes from New Zealand to come through the ranks, work hard and do their best.”
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