by Andr? Hueber
As Valerie Vili launched the shot put into the air to clinch a gold medal it came as no surprise for longtime friend and mentor, former Northlander Patrick Hellier.
Mr Hellier stood along side his wife and Valerie's coach Kirsten in the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing proudly watching
the young Kiwi blast her way into Olympic sporting history.
Speaking to the Northern Advocate from Beijing shortly after the event, Mr Hellier said it was a privilege to watch the gold-winning effort along with 91,000 cheering spectators.
"Valerie's win was pretty bloody awesome and a great privilege to watch. We felt confident she would do well, it wasn't a surprise, but you never can tell with those Bellarussians," he said.
Kirsten Hellier has coached Valerie for the last decade and together they have proved a winning team.
At 20.56 metres, Valerie's first throw would have been good enough to win the gold in Athens four years ago by almost a metre.
Mr Hellier, the reigning heavyweight champion at the Waipu Highland Games, said Valerie had now won every world title possible.
"Her win was the result of huge effort over the past few years and some bloody hard work."
Valerie's sister and niece made the trip to Beijing to be with her, and gave vocal support to their winning family member, he said.
The throw was a personal best for Vili and, while her next attempts were successively shorter, it didn't matter as the rest of the field couldn't get close. She won by 28cm.
The silver medallist Natillia Mikhnevich (20.28) and third-placed Nadzrya Ostapihuk (19.86) of Belarus couldn't overcome the deficit with their final attempts.
Kirsten Hellier said Valerie's winning throw was a fantastic performance and spoke for itself.
"We're extremely proud. It's Valerie's best series ever. It's everything we wanted and planned for. We're still a bit stunned ... it will be more real tonight when we gather together in the stadium with all those incredible athletes."
Valerie was to collect her gold medal in a ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium last night.
