Valerie Adams

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 32) Rotorua, New Zealand
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	120 kg (260 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, World Championship record) Indoor: 20.54 m (2012)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 0 World Championships 4 1 0 World Indoor Championships 3 1 1 Commonwealth Games 3 1 0 Continental Cup 2 0 0 Total 14 4 1 Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Shot put 2012 London Shot put 2016 Rio de Janeiro Shot put World Championships 2007 Osaka Shot put 2009 Berlin Shot put 2011 Daegu Shot put 2013 Moscow Shot put 2005 Helsinki Shot put World Indoor Championships 2008 Valencia Shot put 2012 Istanbul Shot put 2014 Sopot Shot put 2010 Doha Shot put 2016 Portland Shot put Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne Shot put 2010 Delhi Shot put 2014 Glasgow Shot put 2002 Manchester Shot put World Junior Championships 2002 Kingston Shot put World Youth Championships 2001 Debrecen Shot put World Cup / Continental Cup 2006 Athens Shot put 2010 Split Shot put

Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams DNZM (formerly known as Valerie Vili, born 6 October 1984) is a New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, three time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic and three-time Commonwealth champion. She currently holds the New Zealand, Oceanian, Commonwealth and equal World Championship records with a personal best throw of 21.24 metres.

Adams won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with a distance of 20.42 m behind US athlete Michelle Carter.

Adams is one of only nine athletes (along with Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Kirani James, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, and David Storl) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event. She is the first woman to win four consecutive individual titles at the world track and field championships.

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 had her first taste of senior success winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games with 17.45 m.