Valerie Adams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dame
Valerie Adams
DNZM

Adams after her victory at the 2009 World Championships
Personal information
Birth name	Valerie Kasanita Adams
Born	(1984-10-06) 6 October 1984 (age 40) Rotorua, New Zealand
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	120 kg (265 lb) (2012)
Sport
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Shot put
Coached by	Kirsten Hellier (1998–2010) Jean-Pierre Egger (2010–present)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Outdoor: 21.24 m (2011) Indoor: 20.98 m (2013)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd 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 Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Shot put Gold 2012 London Shot put Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Shot put Bronze 2020 Tokyo Shot put World Championships Gold 2007 Osaka Shot put Gold 2009 Berlin Shot put Gold 2011 Daegu Shot put Gold 2013 Moscow Shot put Silver 2005 Helsinki Shot put World Indoor Championships Gold 2008 Valencia Shot put Gold 2010 Doha Shot put Gold 2012 Istanbul Shot put Gold 2014 Sopot Shot put Bronze 2016 Portland Shot put Commonwealth Games Gold 2006 Melbourne Shot put Gold 2010 Delhi Shot put Gold 2014 Glasgow Shot put Silver 2002 Manchester Shot put Silver 2018 Gold Coast Shot put World Cup / Continental Cup Gold 2006 Athens Shot put Gold 2010 Split Shot put World Junior Championships Gold 2002 Kingston Shot put World Youth Championships Gold 2001 Debrecen Shot put

Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a retired New Zealand athlete. She is famous for her incredible skill in the shot put event. In shot put, athletes throw a heavy metal ball as far as they can. Valerie Adams is one of the best shot putters ever!

She has won many big competitions. She is a four-time World Champion. She also won the World Indoor Championships four times. Valerie has two Olympic gold medals and three Commonwealth Games gold medals. She also won the IAAF Continental Cup twice.

Her best outdoor throw was 21.24 meters, and her best indoor throw was 20.98 meters. These are records for Oceania, the Commonwealth, and New Zealand. She also holds records for younger athletes and for major championships. Valerie was the first woman to win four world titles in a row in athletics. She had an amazing winning streak of 56 competitions from 2010 to 2015. She was named the best athlete in the world by the IAAF in 2014.

Valerie Adams won silver medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, and the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2018. She also won a bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Even as a teenager, she competed in big events like the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.

At home in New Zealand, she won the national shot put title fifteen times. She also won a national hammer throw title in 2003. She was named New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year seven times in a row! Valerie Adams retired from competing in 2022. She now helps guide other athletes.

Valerie Adams' Amazing Career

Starting Out in Athletics

Valerie Adams began her journey in athletics in 1998. She met Kirsten Hellier, who became her coach for 11 years. Valerie first became known when she won the World Youth Championships in 2001. She threw the shot put 16.87 meters.

In 2002, she won the World Junior Championships. Her throw was 17.73 meters. She also won her first senior medal, a silver, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

At just 18, she finished fifth at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. In her first Olympics in 2004, she finished seventh. This was impressive because she had surgery just weeks before. In 2005, she won a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. She also won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She broke a 20-year-old record with a throw of 19.66 meters.

Winning World and Olympic Gold

In 2007, Valerie went to the 2007 World Championships in Athletics as a favorite. She won the gold medal with a huge throw of 20.54 meters. This was a new Commonwealth record. It meant she had won world titles at youth, junior, and senior levels.

In 2008, she won her first World Indoor Title. She set an Oceania record with 20.19 meters. At the Beijing Olympics, she won the gold medal. Her throw of 20.56 meters was her best ever. This was New Zealand's first Olympic track and field gold since 1976. She also won the New Zealand Sports Award of the year.

In 2009, Valerie set a new Oceania record of 20.69 meters in Brazil. In August, she won her second gold medal at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. She threw 20.44 meters.

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, she won another gold medal. She set a new continental record of 20.49 meters. Valerie changed coaches in 2010, working with Didier Poppe. Later that year, Jean-Pierre Egger became her coach. She won at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup with a throw of 20.85 meters. She also won her second gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. She set a Games record of 20.47 meters.

More World and Olympic Wins

Valerie won the 2011 World Championships. She threw 21.24 meters, matching a championship record. At the 2012 World Indoor Championships, she won gold with a throw of 20.54 meters.

She originally won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. However, she was later awarded the gold medal. This happened after the original winner was disqualified. Valerie received her gold medal in a special ceremony in New Zealand.

Her Fourth World Title

Valerie won her fourth world championship gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. This made her the first woman to win four straight titles in one event. In 2014, she won her third world indoor championship in Poland. Her gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games was her 54th win in a row. She was also New Zealand's flag-bearer at these games.

Later Career and Retirement

Injuries caused Valerie to miss some competitions in 2014 and 2015. She had surgeries on her shoulder, elbow, and knee. She returned to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She won a silver medal with a throw of 20.42 meters.

In 2017, she was given the title of Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. She took a break from competing because she was pregnant. In 2018, she won a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Valerie won her fourth Olympic medal in 2021 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She won a bronze medal with a throw of 19.62 meters.

On March 1, 2022, Valerie Adams announced her retirement from athletics. She continues to coach her sister, Lisa Adams. A documentary film about her life, Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold, was released in 2022.

Valerie Adams in Sports Leadership

After retiring, Valerie Adams joined the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand in 2022. She also serves on the World Athletics Athletes' Commission. This group helps represent athletes in the sport. In 2023, she was chosen as the chairperson of this commission. She also leads the Oceania Athletics Athletes' Commission.

Valerie Adams' Family Life

Adams (right) in 2017, after being honored as a Dame by the Governor-General, Dame Patsy Reddy

Valerie Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand. Her mother was from Tonga, and her father was English. Her father had many children, and Valerie inherited her height from him. He was 2.10 meters tall!

Valerie has a famous younger brother, National Basketball Association player Steven Adams. Her other two brothers also played professional basketball in New Zealand. Her sister, Lisa Adams, is a Paralympic champion in shot put and discus. Lisa has cerebral palsy.

Valerie was married to Bertrand Vili, a discus thrower. They divorced in 2010. In 2016, she married Gabriel Price, a childhood friend. They have two children, a daughter and a son. In 2023, Valerie announced her separation from Price. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Valerie Adams' Best Throws

International Competitions and Medals

Adams celebrated her first world title in 2007

Adams competing at the 2011 World Championships

Adams atop the podium at the 2014 World Indoor Championships

Medal Changes

• 2004 Olympic Games: Valerie was moved to seventh place after two athletes were disqualified.
• 2005 World Championships: She was moved to a silver medal after the original winner was disqualified.
• 2010 World Indoor Championships: She was moved to a gold medal after the original winner was disqualified.
• 2012 Olympic Games: She was moved to a gold medal after the original winner was disqualified.

Awards and Honors

Valerie Adams has received many awards for her amazing career:

• She was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year in 2015.
• She was named IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2014.
• She was also the Track & Field News Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
• She was honored as a Member of the Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III in 2008.
• In 2017, she was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
• She won New Zealand's Sportswoman of the Year seven times in a row (2006-2012).
• She won the Halberg Awards – Supreme Award three times (2007, 2008, 2009).
• The Lonsdale Cup was awarded to her five times (2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014). This award recognizes the best national athlete in an Olympic sport.

See also

In Spanish: Valerie Adams para niños

• Shot put at the Olympics
• List of Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
• List of New Zealand Olympic medallists
• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics (women)
• List of World Championships in Athletics medalists (women)
• List of New Zealand sportspeople
• List of professional sports families
• List of sporting knights and dames
• Women in New Zealand