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 famous retired New Zealand shot putter. She is one of the most successful athletes in her sport. Valerie has won many big titles. These include four World Championship golds and two Olympic gold medals.

She also won four World Indoor Championship titles. Valerie is a three-time Commonwealth Games champion. She also won the IAAF Continental Cup twice. Her best outdoor throw was 21.24 meters. Her best indoor throw was 20.98 meters. These are records for Oceania, the Commonwealth, and New Zealand.

Valerie Adams was the third woman ever to win world titles at youth, junior, and senior levels in athletics. She was also the first woman to win four world championships in a row in her event. Valerie had an amazing winning streak of 56 competitions. This streak lasted from August 2010 to July 2015. She was named the IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2014. She also won the Track & Field News Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2013.

Valerie won silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also earned silver at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. She won silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2018. In 2016, she won a bronze medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships. Even as a teenager, Valerie was a finalist at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.

At home in New Zealand, she won fifteen national shot put titles. She also won a national hammer throw title in 2003. Valerie retired from competing in athletics in 2022. After retiring, she joined the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand. A documentary about her life, Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold, was released in 2022.

Career Highlights

Starting Her Journey 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 well-known in 2001. She won the World Youth Championships with a throw of 16.87 meters.

In 2002, she became the World Junior champion. She threw 17.73 meters. That same year, she won her first senior international medal. It was a silver at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She threw 17.45 meters.

At 18, she finished fifth at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. In 2004, she competed in her first Olympics. She finished seventh, even though she was recovering from surgery.

In 2005, Valerie finished third at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. Her throw was a personal best of 19.87 meters. Later, the original winner was disqualified. This meant Valerie's bronze medal was changed to a silver. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Valerie won the gold medal. She broke a 20-year-old record with a throw of 19.66 meters.

Winning World and Olympic Gold

In 2007, Valerie Adams was a favorite to win a medal at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka. She led the qualifying round with a throw of 19.45 meters. In the final, she was in second place for most of the competition. But in her last throw, she made an amazing throw of 20.54 meters. This won her the gold medal and set a new Commonwealth record. This made her one of the few female athletes to win world titles at youth, junior, and senior levels.

In 2008, Valerie broke the Oceania record. She won her first World Indoor Title in Valencia with a throw of 20.19 meters. At the Beijing Olympics, she qualified for the final easily. She won the gold medal with a throw of 20.56 meters. This was a personal best for her. It was New Zealand's first Olympic gold medal in track and field since 1976. She also won the New Zealand Sports Award of the year in 2008.

In 2009, Valerie won the Grande Prêmio Rio in Brazil. She set a new personal best and Oceania record of 20.69 meters. This was the best throw in the world that year. In August, Valerie won at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. She threw 20.44 meters.

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Valerie set a continental record of 20.49 meters. She changed coaches in 2010, first to Didier Poppe, then to Jean-Pierre Egger. She won at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup with a throw of 20.85 meters. She also won gold at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. She set a new Games record of 20.47 meters.

More World and Olympic Success

Valerie Adams won the 2011 World Championships. She equaled the championship record of 21.24 meters. At the 2012 World Indoor Championships, Valerie won with a throw of 20.54 meters. This was a new personal best for her indoors.

Valerie originally won the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. However, she was later awarded the gold medal. This happened after the athlete who first won was disqualified for failing drug tests. Valerie received her gold medal in a special ceremony in Auckland in September 2012.

Achieving a Fourth World Title

Valerie won her fourth world championship gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. This fourth gold medal meant she had won more than any other female shot putter. She was also the first woman to win four straight titles in an event at the competition. In March 2014, she won her third world indoor championship in Poland. Her throw was 20.67 meters.

She won a gold medal at the Athletics at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Valerie was New Zealand's flag-bearer at these Games. This win was her 54th win in a row. This amazing streak started in August 2010.

Later Career and Retirement

Injuries caused Valerie to miss much of the 2015 season. She had surgeries on her shoulder, elbow, and knee. Valerie finished second in the shot put at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She threw 20.42 meters.

In 2017, Valerie was given the title of Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. She took a break from athletics that season because she was pregnant. In 2018, Valerie came in second at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. She threw 18.70 meters.

Valerie won her fourth Olympic medal in July 2021. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won a bronze medal. Her best throw was 19.62 meters.

Valerie Adams announced her retirement from athletics on March 1, 2022. She continues to coach her sister, Lisa Adams. In October 2022, a documentary film about her life was released. It was called Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold.

Sports Leadership Roles

After retiring from competing, Valerie Adams took on new leadership roles. In 2022, she was appointed to the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand. As of 2023, Valerie is serving her third term on the World Athletics Athletes' Commission. She was elected deputy chair of the Commission in 2019. In 2023, she became the chairperson. She also leads the Oceania Athletics Athletes' Commission.

Family Life

Adams (right) in 2017, after being made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the Governor-General, Dame Patsy Reddy

Valerie Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand. Her mother was from Tonga, and her father was from England. Her father had many children. Valerie got her height from him; he was 2.10 meters tall. Her mother was 1.55 meters tall.

Valerie's youngest brother is National Basketball Association player Steven Adams. Her two other brothers also played professional basketball in New Zealand. Her sister, Lisa Adams, is a retired Paralympic champion. Lisa competes in shot put and discus.

Valerie was married to Bertrand Vili, a discus thrower. They married in 2004 and later separated in 2010. Valerie married Gabriel Price, a childhood friend, in 2016. They have two children, a daughter born in 2017 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.

Personal Best Throws

International Competitions

Adams celebrating her first world title in 2007

Adams competing at the 2011 World Championships

Adams on 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 silver after the original winner was disqualified.
• 2010 World Indoor Championships: She was moved to gold after the original winner was disqualified.
• 2012 Olympic Games: She was moved to gold after the original winner was disqualified.

Awards and Honors

• IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2014
• Track & Field News Athlete of the Year: 2012, 2013
• Member of the Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III (2008).
• New Zealand Order of Merit: 2017 (made a Dame Companion)
• New Zealand's Sportswoman of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
• Halberg Awards – Supreme Award: 2007, 2008, 2009
• Lonsdale Cup of the New Zealand Olympic Committee: 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014

See also

In Spanish: Valerie Adams para niños