Dame Valerie Adams wins bronze for NZ in shotput [1]
Tuesday, August 3, 2021 - 17:32. Updated on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - 15:37.
New Zealand’s Dame Valerie Adams, who is of Tongan heritage, won a bronze medal in Shot Put at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, August 1.
Valerie’s best throw of 19.62m was achieved in her third attempt out of six throws.
China’s Lijiao Gong claimed the gold medal with a throw of 20.58, and USA’s Raven Saunders took silver with a throw of 19.79.
This is Valerie’s fourth Olympic medal at five games. She has won the gold medal in Shot Put twice at the 2012 and 2008 Olympic Games, and silver in Rio in 2016. She also won three gold and two silver medals at five Commonwealth Games and won the World Championships four times among other accolades.
Valerie’s personal best throw is 21.24m, recorded at the World Championships in 2011.
The Tokyo Olympics is Valerie’s first as a mother of two children. In a social media post after her Olympic event, she said this one felt “magical”.
“Inspired by 2 small humans who have no idea what I do or what this means. I hope they are proud of their mummy.”
Valerie speaks fluent Tongan, French, and English. She was born in New Zealand to a Tongan mother (from Houma) and an English father.
In 2017, New Zealand honoured Valerie with the title of Dame in their annual New Year honours list.
Valerie was also appointed as New Zealand's first Pacific Sports Ambassador in 2016.