Login
Login

Valerie Adams

{{short description|New Zealand shot putter}}

{{pp-pc}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

|honorific_prefix = Dame

|name = Valerie Adams

|honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=NZL|size=100%|DNZM}}

|image = Valerie Vili Berlin 2009-2.jpg

|image_size =

|caption = Adams after her victory at the 2009 World Championships

|birth_name = Valerie Kasanita Adams

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1984|10|6}}

|birth_place = Rotorua, New Zealand

|height = {{convert|193|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}{{cite Sports-Reference|title=Valerie Adams|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ad/valerie-adams-vili-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417163605/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ad/valerie-adams-vili-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|access-date=17 January 2014}}

|weight = {{convert|120|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} (2012)

|country = New Zealand

|sport = Athletics

|event = Shot put

|coach = Kirsten Hellier (1998–2010)
{{nowrap|Jean-Pierre Egger (2010–present)}}

|show-medals =

|pb = Outdoor: 21.24 m (2011)
Indoor: 20.98 m (2013)

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCount

|Olympic Games|2|1|1

|World Championships|4|1|0

|World Indoor Championships|4|0|1

|Commonwealth Games|3|2|0

|Continental Cup|2|0|0

|Total|15|4|2

}}

{{Medal|Olympic}}

{{Medal|Gold|2008 Beijing|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2012 London|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Silver|2016 Rio de Janeiro|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Bronze|2020 Tokyo|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Competition|World Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold|2007 Osaka|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2009 Berlin|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2011 Daegu|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2013 Moscow|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Silver|2005 Helsinki|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Competition|World Indoor Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold|2008 Valencia|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2010 Doha|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2012 Istanbul|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2014 Sopot|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Bronze|2016 Portland|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Competition|Commonwealth Games}}

{{Medal|Gold|2006 Melbourne|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2010 Delhi|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2014 Glasgow|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Silver|2002 Manchester|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Silver|2018 Gold Coast|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Competition|World Cup / Continental Cup}}

{{Medal|Gold|2006 Athens|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Gold|2010 Split|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Competition|World Junior Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold|2002 Kingston|Shot put}}

{{Medal|Competition|World Youth Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold|2001 Debrecen|Shot put}}

}}

Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams {{postnominals|country=NZL|DNZM}} (formerly Vili; born 6 October 1984) is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of {{convert|21.24|m}} outdoors and {{convert|20.98|m}} indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.

Adams was the third woman to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletics event, following the feats of Yelena Isinbayeva and Jana 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.Alderson, Andrew (5 July 2015). [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11476018 Val Adams finally defeated]. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2018. She was the IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2014 and the Track & 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 to Natallia Mikhnevich (later banned for doping that year).

Adams won silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics (amended to a gold after prior winner Nadzeya 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 the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. While still a teenager, Adams was a finalist at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and the 2004 Summer Olympics. Adams is one of eleven athletes (along with Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Armand Duplantis, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Kirani James, Faith Kipyegon, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, and David 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 the New Zealand Athletics Championships between 2001 and 2018, as well as having a hammer throw national title in 2003. Adams also won four times at the Australian Athletics Championships between 2004 and 2008. From 2006 to 2012 she was chosen as the New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year seven times consecutively and has been awarded the Lonsdale 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 of High Performance Sport New Zealand, and was the subject of the documentary Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold.

Career

=Early career=

In 1998 Adams met former javelin thrower Kirsten Hellier, who would become her coach for the next 11 years. Adams first came to prominence when winning the World Youth Championships in 2001, with a throw of 16.87 m. She followed this up in 2002 by becoming World Junior champion, throwing 17.73 m, and gained her first international senior placing with the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, throwing 17.45 m.

She finished fifth at the 2003 World Championships at eighteen years of age. At her first Olympics in 2004, Adams finished seventh (after two athletes' subsequent disqualification), while still recovering from an appendectomy she had just weeks before the competition.

The following year Adams finished third at the World 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/21712788 |title=Doping: Five 2005 world medallists caught after IAAF retests|department=BBC Sport|access-date=9 March 2012}} Adams originally finished second at the World Athletics Final in 2005, but was promoted to gold after Astapchuk's results were annulled.{{cite news|url=http://www.iaaf.org/news/iaaf-news/ivan-tikhon-nadzeya-ostapchuk-results-annulle|title=Revision of results following sanctions of Tsikhan and Ostapchuk|date=27 April 2014|publisher=IAAF|access-date=11 May 2014}} At the 2006 Commonwealth Games Adams won the gold medal, breaking the 20-year-old Commonwealth Games record of 19.00 m with a throw of 19.66 m.

=First world and Olympic titles=

In 2007, Adams went to the Osaka World 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 behind Nadzeya 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{{cite news | url=http://en.omriyadat.com/asian-athletics/valerie-adams-says-russia-ban-a-favorable-step-against-doping| title = Valerie Adams says: Russia ban a favorable step against doping | date = 6 July 2016}} World Titles at youth, junior and senior level.She was the third after Jana Pittman (2003) and Yelena Isinbayeva (2005). Veronica Campbell completed the set the day after Adams.

In 2008 Adams broke the Oceania record in winning her first World Indoor Title in Valencia (20.19 m). At the Beijing 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, beating Belarusian thrower Natallia Mikhnevich. It was the first Olympic gold medal in track and field for New Zealand since John Walker won the 1500 metre race in 1976. 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 and Oceanian area record of 20.69 m. The throw was also the world leading distance for the event.{{cite news|last=Biscayart |first=Eduardo |date=18 May 2009 |url=http://www.iaaf.org/WAF09/news/kind=100/newsid=50611.html |title=Vili sets 20.69m Oceania Shot Put record in Rio |publisher=IAAF |access-date=18 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519213242/http://www.iaaf.org/WAF09/news/kind=100/newsid=50611.html |archive-date=19 May 2009 |url-status=dead}} In August, Adams won at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin with a throw of 20.44 metres, ahead of the German Nadine Kleinert and Gong Lijiao of China.

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships Adams was defeated by Nadzeya Astapchuk by a large margin, in spite of the New Zealander setting a continental record of 20.49 m.{{cite news|last=Landells |first=Steve |date=14 March 2010 |url=http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=56106.html |title=EVENT REPORT – WOMEN's Shot Put Final |publisher=IAAF |access-date=1 March 2011 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629143608/http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=56106.html |url-status=dead}} Adams announced on 28 March 2010 that she would no longer be coached by Kirsten Hellier after an 11-year partnership.{{cite news|title=Shotput champion Valerie Vili splits with coach|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10634937|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=28 March 2010|access-date=28 March 2010}} In April 2010 she announced her new coach was Didier Poppe.{{cite news|title=Valerie Vili appoints new coach|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/3577571/Valerie-Vili-appoints-new-coach|website=Stuff |date=13 April 2010|access-date=30 April 2010}}

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 the Athletics Bridge meet in Slovakia, later saying that a change in her technique that April had begun to pay dividends.{{cite news|last=Juck |first=Alfons |date=24 August 2010 |url=http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=58068.html |title=Shot putters rule in Dubnica |publisher=IAAF |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=25 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825102119/http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=58068.html |url-status=dead }}

Later that season she won at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup with a season's best mark of 20.85 m and also competed at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, where she set a Games record mark of 20.47 m to retain her title. In late 2010 Jean-Pierre Egger took over as her coach from Poppe.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10765837|work=The New Zealand Herald|title=Tough year all worth it, says Adams|date=14 November 2011|access-date=6 March 2012}}

=World and Olympic repeat=

Adams won the 2011 World Championships equalling the championship record 21.24 met by Natalya Lisovskaya in 1987.{{cite news|title=Women's Shot Put – Final – Threepeat for Adams, with a 21.14m Area Record |first=Steve |last=Landells |url=http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=61537 |publisher=IAAF |date=29 August 2011 |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801041034/http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=61537 |archive-date=1 August 2012 |url-status=dead}} At the 2012 World Indoor Championships Adams won the competition with a throw of 20.54 m, a new indoors personal best.{{cite news|title= Adams completes set of world titles|first=Michael|last=Brown|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10791296|work=The New Zealand Herald |date=11 March 2012|access-date=12 March 2012}}

Adams originally won the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/sport/national/7426260/Valerie-Adams-falls-short-of-shot-put-gold|title=Valerie Adams falls short of shot put gold|date=7 August 2012|access-date=7 August 2012}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/aug/13/belarusian-shot-putter-nadzeya-ostapchuk-gold?newsfeed=true|title=Belarus shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk stripped of gold for doping|work=The Guardian|access-date=20 August 2012|location=London|first=Tom|last=Bryant |date=13 August 2012}}

The Belarusian Ostapchuk tested positive for metenolone which is classified as an anabolic agent on the list of banned substances. Adams later recounted how she initially believed Chef de Mission Dave Currie was "telling fibs" upon being told the news.{{cite web|url=http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Valerie-Adams-thought-gold-medal-phone-call-was-a-joke/tabid/506/articleID/29995/Default.aspx|title=Valerie Adams thought gold medal phone call was a joke|publisher=RadioLive|access-date=14 August 2012}} She received the gold medal from the New Zealand Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mateparae, at a special ceremony in Auckland on 19 September 2012.

=Fourth world title=

Adams won her fourth world championship gold at the 2013 World Championships games in Moscow in August 2013.[http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/14th-iaaf-world-championships-4873/results/women/shot-put/final/series#resultheader 14th IAAF World Championships] Her fourth gold medal surpassed Astrid 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.{{cite news |title=David Oliver wins hurdles gold |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/9561240/shelly-ann-fraser-pryce-breezes-women-100-win-massive-22-seconds |access-date=13 August 2013 | work=ESPN|date=12 August 2013 |agency=Associated Press}} On 27 September, Adams underwent surgery on her left ankle and right knee,[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11216603 Adams wins third world indoor title] and in March 2014 won her third world indoor championship at Sopot in Poland with a distance of 20.67 m. Her gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she was New Zealand's flag-bearer, was her 54th consecutive event win; the streak began in August 2010.{{cite news |title=Commonwealth Games: Golden Val shows she's in a class of her own |first=David |last=Leggat |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11302176 | work=The New Zealand Herald |date=1 August 2014 |access-date=1 August 2014}}

=Later career=

Injury caused Adams to withdraw from an attempted defence of her shot put title at the 2014 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.[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11498923 More surgery for Valerie Adams]. New Zealand Herald (18 August 2015). Retrieved 22 April 2018.

Adams finished second in shot put at the 2016 Summer Olympics with a distance of 20.42 m. She was beaten by Michelle Carter who had a personal best of 20.63 m with her last put of the competition.{{cite news|title=Rio Olympics 2016: USA's Michelle Carter wins women's shot put gold with final throw|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/36687855|access-date=13 August 2016|work=BBC|date=13 August 2016}}

In the 2017 New Year Honours, Adams was named a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/87994208/new-years-honours-dame-valerie-adams-blown-away-but-still-has-more-to-achieve |title=New Year's Honours: Dame Valerie Adams blown away but still has more to achieve |access-date=31 December 2016}} She skipped the entire track and field that season due to pregnancy.

Adams came in second in the shot put at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, with a seasonal best put of 18.70 m.{{cite web|title=Result – Women's Shot Put Final |url= https://results.gc2018.com/en/athletics/result-women-s-shot-put-fnl-000100-.htm|publisher=Gold Coast 2018|access-date=13 April 2018}}

Adams won her fourth Olympic medal in July 2021, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning a bronze medal with a best put of {{convert|19.62|m}}.{{Cite news |date=1 August 2021 |title=Tokyo Olympics: Valerie Adams says bronze medal means more than winning gold |url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300371268/tokyo-olympics-valerie-adams-says-bronze-medal-means-more-than-winning-gold |access-date=1 August 2021 |work=Stuff }}

Adams announced her retirement from athletics competition on 1 March 2022, but will continue to coach Lisa Adams.{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Grant |title=Athletics: Olympic shot put legend Dame Valerie Adams officially retires after 20 years on top |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/03/athletics-olympic-shot-put-legend-dame-valerie-adams-officially-retires-after-20-years-on-top.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228222836/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/03/athletics-olympic-shot-put-legend-dame-valerie-adams-officially-retires-after-20-years-on-top.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2022 |access-date=1 March 2022|work=Newshub }} In October 2022, the documentary film Dame 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.{{cite news|url=https://pacificmedianetwork.com/articles/more-than-gold-a-standing-ovation-and-not-a-dry-eye|title=More than Gold – a standing ovation and not a dry eye |first1=Gaby |last1=Solomona|website=Pacific Media Network|date=13 October 2022 |access-date=9 November 2022}}

Sports administration

In 2022 Adams was appointed to the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand.{{Cite news |date=1 September 2022 |title=Dame Val moves from shot put circle to boardroom |url= https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/473894/dame-val-moves-from-shot-put-circle-to-boardroom |access-date=31 August 2022 |work=RNZ |language=en-nz}} As at 2023 Adams is serving her third term on the World Athletics Athletes' Commission.{{Cite web |date=27 October 2023 |title=Dame Valerie Adams elected as World Athletics Athletes' Commission Chair |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/501089/dame-valerie-adams-elected-as-world-athletics-athletes-commission-chair |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}} In 2019 she was elected deputy chair of the Commission and in 2023 was elected chairperson. She is also serving as chairperson of the Oceania Athletics Athletes' Commission.

Personal life

File:GGNZ investiture 26 April 2017 - Valerie Adams.jpg by the Governor-General, Dame Patsy Reddy]]

Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, to a Tongan mother (Lilika Ngauamo){{cite news |url= http://www.hospice.org.nz/cms_show_download.php?id=347 |date=17 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522141246/http://www.hospice.org.nz/cms_show_download.php?id=347 |archive-date=22 May 2010 |url-status=dead |title=Vili takes on hospice role |work=Manakau Courier |via=hospice.org.nz |access-date=16 July 2024}} and an English father (Sydney Adams).{{cite web |url= http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=114/newsid=53080.html |title=Pressure free, Vili delivers second World Title |archive-date=19 August 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090819025515/http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind%3D114/newsid%3D53080.html |url-status=dead |date=19 August 2009 |access-date=16 July 2024 |publisher=International Association of Athletics Federations |first=Michael |last=Butcher }}; retrieved 17 August 2009. Her father, who settled in New Zealand after service in the Royal Navy, had a total of eighteen children with five women.{{cite news |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121009051154/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/pitt-big-east/pitt-big-man-steven-adams-backstory-is-as-interesting-as-his-future-is-intriguing-656568/ |archive-date=9 October 2012 |url-status=dead |url= http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/pitt-big-east/pitt-big-man-steven-adams-backstory-is-as-interesting-as-his-future-is-intriguing-656568/ |title=Pitt big man Steven Adams' backstory is as interesting as his future is intriguing |first=Ray |last=Fittipaldo |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=7 October 2012 |access-date=16 July 2024}} She inherited her height from her father, who measures {{convert|2.10|m|ftin|disp=or}}, while her mother was only ({{convert|1.55|m|ftin|disp=or}}).{{cite news |last1=Bingham |first1=Eugene |title=Valerie Vili – two shots, one aim |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/valerie-vili-two-shots-one-aim/FM6QH5JY22JCBRP3PUZSCZEABA/ |access-date=15 July 2024 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=15 July 2006}} Adams' youngest sibling is National Basketball Association player Steven Adams, and her two other brothers played professional basketball in New Zealand. Their sister, Lisa Adams, is a retired paralympic champion shot-putter and discus thrower who has cerebral palsy.{{Cite news |first=Luke |last=Robinson |url= https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2019/03/athletics-lisa-adams-betters-world-para-shot-put-record.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191218212157/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2019/03/athletics-lisa-adams-betters-world-para-shot-put-record.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 December 2019 |title=Athletics: Lisa Adams betters world para shot put record |work=Newshub |access-date=9 March 2019 |date=9 March 2019}}

Adams was married to Bertrand Vili, a discus thrower from New Caledonia.{{cite web |url=http://www.hospice.org.nz/valarie-vili-s-cancer-grief/ |title=Valerie Vili speaks out |work=New Idea |publisher=Hospice New Zealand |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071029040838/http://www.hospice.org.nz/valarie-vili-s-cancer-grief/ |archive-date=29 October 2007 |access-date=16 July 2024}}{{cite news |first=Murray |last=Taylor |title=Strong winds suppress results in Hamilton |url=http://competition-elb.aws.iaaf.org/news/news/strong-winds-suppress-results-in-hamilton |publisher=IAAF |date=6 February 2007 |access-date=28 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160504230701/http://competition-elb.aws.iaaf.org/news/news/strong-winds-suppress-results-in-hamilton |archive-date=4 May 2016 |url-status=dead}} They used French as their main language and married in 2004 and divorced in early 2010.{{cite news |title=Vili changes name after marriage bust-up |url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10667432 |access-date=13 August 2016 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=20 August 2010}} Adams married Gabriel Price, a friend since childhood, at Temple View in Hamilton on 2 April 2016.{{cite news |url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/78494895/dual-olympic-shot-put-champion-valerie-adams-weds-for-second-time |title=Dual Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams weds for second time |date=3 April 2016 |work=Stuff |access-date=3 April 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Buckleton |first1=Ophelia |title=Pregnant Dame Valerie Adams a 'machine' at the gym |url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11893978 |access-date=28 September 2017 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=22 July 2017}} The couple have two children: a daughter born in 2017 and a son.{{cite news|title=Dame Valerie Adams gives birth to first child, daughter Kimoana Josephine Adams-Price|url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2017/10/dame-valerie-adams-gives-birth-to-first-child-girl-kimoana-josephine-adams-price.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011065844/http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2017/10/dame-valerie-adams-gives-birth-to-first-child-girl-kimoana-josephine-adams-price.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2017 |access-date=12 October 2017 |work=Newshub | date=11 October 2017}}{{Cite news |first= Emma |last=Russell |title='Run over by a bus': Dame Valerie Adams opens up about parenting challenge as she gets first Covid jab |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/run-over-by-a-bus-dame-valerie-adams-opens-up-about-parenting-challenge-as-she-gets-first-covid-jab/AJ4AAVSDI4B3GTP45KL7JLIPYI/ |access-date=1 August 2021 |date=17 April 2021 |work=The New Zealand Herald }} In 2023, Adams announced her separation from Price after nearly seven years of marriage.{{cite news |date=11 March 2023 |title=Shock split: Double Olympic gold medalist Valerie Adams announces marriage break-up |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/shock-split-double-olympic-gold-medalist-valerie-adams-announces-marriage-break-up/7U5SFIYLN5GT5JNE72M4VO7X6E/ |access-date=10 March 2023 |work=The New Zealand Herald }}

She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.{{cite news |date=2000 |first=Peter |last=Rees |url= http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=19106/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl |title=Mum's the word for Valerie |work=Islands Business |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120217182149/http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=19106/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl |archive-date=17 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}

Personal bests

class=wikitable
Event

!Mark

!Date

!Location

!Notes

Shot put outdoor21.24 m29 August 2011Daegu, South Korea{{AthAbbr|AR|Oceanian}} {{AthAbbr|NR|New Zealand}}
Shot put indoor20.98 m28 August 2013Zürich, Switzerland{{AthAbbr|AR|Oceanian}} {{AthAbbr|NR|New Zealand}}
Discus throw58.12 m31 March 2004Wanganui, New Zealand
Hammer throw58.32 m6 April 2002Auckland, New Zealand

Seasonal bests

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
Season

!Outdoor

!Rank

!Indoor

202018.814th
2019——
201819.317th
2017——
201620.423rd19.25
201518.7913th
201420.591st20.67
201320.901st20.98
201221.111st20.81
201121.241st20.51
201020.861st20.49
200921.071st
200820.562nd20.19
200720.541st
200620.201st
200519.873rd
200419.298th18.22
200318.9314th
200218.4020th
200117.0868th
200015.72—
199914.15—

International competitions

File:Osaka07 D2A Valerie Vili Nadine Kleinert.jpg

File:Valerie Adams Daegu 2011.jpg

File:Shot put women podium Sopot 2014.jpg

{{AchievementTable}}
2001

|World Youth Championships

|Debrecen, Hungary

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|16.87 m

rowspan=3|2002

|World Junior Championships

|Kingston, Jamaica

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|17.73 m

Commonwealth Games

|Manchester, United Kingdom

|bgcolor=silver|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

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|19.62 m

rowspan=2|2006

|Commonwealth Games

|Melbourne, Australia

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|19.66 m {{AthAbbr|GR|Commonwealth Games}}

World Cup

|Athens, Greece

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|19.87 m

2007

|World Championships

|Osaka, Japan

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.54 m

rowspan=2|2008

|World Indoor Championships

|Valencia, Spain

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.19 m

Olympic Games

|Beijing, China

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.56 m

2009

|World Championships

|Berlin, Germany

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.44 m

rowspan=3|2010

|World Indoor Championships

|Doha, Qatar

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.49 m

Commonwealth Games

|New Delhi, India

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.47 m {{AthAbbr|GR|Commonwealth Games}}

Continental Cup

|Split, Croatia

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.86 m

2011

|World Championships

|Daegu, South Korea

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|21.24 m {{AthAbbr|CR|World Championships in Athletics}}

rowspan=2|2012

|World Indoor Championships

|Istanbul, Turkey

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.54 m

Olympic Games

|London, United Kingdom

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.70 m

2013

|World Championships

|Moscow, Russia

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.88 m

rowspan=2|2014

|World Indoor Championships

|Sopot, Poland

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|20.67 m {{AthAbbr|CR|IAAF World Indoor Championships}}

Commonwealth Games

|Glasgow, United Kingdom

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|19.88 m

rowspan=2|2016

|World Indoor Championships

|Portland, United States

|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|19.25 m

Olympic Games

|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|20.42 m

2018

|Commonwealth Games

|Gold Coast, Australia

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|18.70 m

2021

|Olympic Games

|Tokyo, Japan

|bgcolor=cc9966 data-sort-value="3rd"| 3rd

|19.62 m

;Revised positions

  • 2004 Olympic Games: Promoted to seventh following disqualification of winner Irina Korzhanenko and fourth-place Svetlana Krivelyova
  • 2005 World Championships: Promoted to silver following disqualification of winner Nadzeya Astapchuk
  • 2010 World Indoor Championships: Promoted to gold following disqualification of winner Nadzeya Astapchuk
  • 2012 Olympic Games: Promoted to gold following disqualification of winner Nadzeya Astapchuk

National titles

Circuit wins

File:2011-06-09 Valerie Adams.jpg in 2011]]

Awards

See also

References

  • {{cite book|last=Butcher|first=Margot|title=Golden Girls: Celebrating New Zealand's six female Olympic gold medallists|year=2010|publisher=HarperSports/HarperCollins|location=Auckland|isbn=978-1-86950-892-0|pages=106–127}}

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Valerie Adams}}

  • {{World Athletics}}
  • {{Diamond League profile}}
  • {{Olympics.com profile|org_archive=20210418225726}}
  • {{Olympedia}}
  • {{SR/Olympics}}
  • {{NZOC profile}}
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnD1LoMU_OA Vili wins the shot put title at the 2007 World Championships] at YouTube
  • [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=6860 Page with Photo, one of several at Sporting Heroes]
  • {{YouTube|2K1EHZFsTfc}} IAAF highlight video

{{s-start}}

{{s-ach|aw}}

{{succession box|before=Kate McIlroy|after=Lydia Ko|title=New Zealand's Sportswoman of the Year|years=2006–2012}}

{{succession box|before=Mahé Drysdale|after=All Whites|title=Halberg Awards – Supreme Award|years=2007–2009}}

{{succession box|title=Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year|before=Vivian Cheruiyot|after=Anita Włodarczyk|years=2012–2013}}

{{succession box|title=IAAF World Athlete of the Year|before=Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce|after=Genzebe Dibaba|years=2014}}

{{s-bef|before=1982 rowing eight|before2=Silver Ferns|before3=Hamish Bond and Eric Murray}}

{{s-ttl|title=Lonsdale Cup|years=2006–2007
2011
2013–2014}}

{{s-aft|after=Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell|after2=Hamish Bond and Eric Murray|after3=Lydia Ko}}

{{s-end}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Shot Put Women}}

{{Footer World Champions Shot Put Women}}

{{Footer IAAF World Youth Champions Shot Put Women}}

{{Footer IAAF Diamond League Shot Put Champions Women}}

{{Footer World Indoor Champions Shot Women}}

{{Footer Commonwealth Champions Shot Put Women}}

{{Footer IAAF World Cup Champions Shot Women}}

{{Footer New Zealand NC shot put women}}

{{Footer New Zealand NC hammer throw women}}

{{Footer Australia NC Shot Women}}

{{Footer WBYP Shot Put Women}}

{{IAAF World Athlete of the Year (women)}}

{{2002 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}

{{2004 New Zealand Olympic team}}

{{2006 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}

{{2008 New Zealand Olympic team}}

{{2010 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}

{{2012 New Zealand Olympic team}}

{{2014 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}

{{2016 New Zealand Olympic team}}

{{2018 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}

{{2020 New Zealand Olympic team}}

{{Summer Olympics multiple gold medallists from New Zealand}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Valerie}}

Category:1984 births

Category:Living people

Category:Sportspeople from Rotorua

Category:New Zealand female shot putters

Category:Olympic female shot putters

Category:Olympic athletes for New Zealand

Category:Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand

Category:Olympic silver medalists for New Zealand

Category:Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand

Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand

Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for New Zealand

Category:World Athletics Championships medalists

Category:Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Category:Sportspeople awarded damehoods

Category:New Zealand Latter Day Saints

Category:New Zealand people of English descent

Category:New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent

Category:Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners

Category:Diamond League winners

Category:World Athletics Indoor Championships winners

Category:IAAF Continental Cup winners

Category:World Athletics Championships winners

Category:IAAF World Athletics Final winners

Category:Members of the Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III

Category:Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games

Category:Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Category:Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Category:Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Category:Australian Athletics Championships winners

Category:New Zealand Athletics Championships winners

Category:New Zealand female hammer throwers

Category:21st-century New Zealand sportswomen

Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics

Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics