10 Interesting Facts about Valerie Adams

Those who love to do some exercise and do sports might have known one of these following facts about Valerie Adams. She is a shot putter from New Zealand and is a two-time Olympic, Commonwealth and World Indoor champion and a four-time World Champion. She currently holds the New Zealand, Oceanian, Commonwealth and equal World Championship records with a personal best throm of 21.24 meters. She is also one of only nine athletes 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. To get to know more about her, below are the other facts about Valerie Adams you may be interested in.

Facts about Valerie Adams 1: Early Career

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.

Facts about Valerie Adams 2: Appendectomy

She finished fifth at the 2003 World Championship at eighteen years of age. At her first Olympics in 2004, Adams finished eighth, while still recovering from an appendectomy she had just weeks before the competition.

Facts about Valerie Adams 3: 2005 World Athletic Final

The following year, Adams finished second at the World Athletic Final in 2005 and at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the 1.93 m-tall athlete won the gold medal, breaking the 20-year-old Commonwealth Games record of 19.00 m with a throw of 19.66 m.

Facts about Valerie Adams 4: 2007 Osaka World Championship

In 2007, Adams went to the Osaka World Championship 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.

Facts about Valerie Adams 5: Beijing Olympic

At the Beijing Olympic, she qualified for the final with the longest distance thrown, 19.73 meters, on her first attempt. She won the gold with a throw of 20.56 m, a personal best, beating Belarussian thrower Natallia Mikhanevich. It is the first Olympic gold medal in track and field for New Zealand since John Walker won the 1,500 meter race in 1976.

Facts about Valerie Adams 6: 2013 World Championship

Adams won her fourth world championship gold at the 2013 World Championship games in Moscow in August 2013.Her fourth gold medal surpassed Astrid Kumbernuss for most all time by a female shotputter.

Facts about Valerie Adams 7: Knee Surgery

On 23 September Adams announced she was scheduled to undergo surgery on 27 September to clear up problems on her left ankle and right knee.

Facts about Valerie Adams 8: Personal Life

Adams was married to Bertrand Vili, a discus thrower from New Caledonia, but divorced him early in 2010. She is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Facts about Valerie Adams 9: Defining Moments

Adam’s early potential was spotted by a PE teacher at her high school in Mangere, Auckland, when she was just a shy, sporty 13-year-old – the tallest in her class, but with good forearms. She went on to smash records at the regional junior athletics day that year.

Facts about Valerie Adams 10: Shot-put Champions

Adams would go on to become the reigning Olympic, World and Commonwealth shot-put champions, and New Zealand’s foremost sportsperson – winning gold at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2008 Beijing Olympics (the country’s second gold in track and field since 1976), scoring an unbeaten 25 consecutive victories at the IAAF World Championships and breaking a slew of world records.

Hope you would find those Valerie Adams facts really interesting and useful for your additional readings.