Lisa Adams celebrates winning shot put gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Photo / Getty Images
Lisa Adams celebrates winning shot put gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Photo / Getty Images
It is starting to feel as though everything Lisa Adams touches turns to gold.
That was certainly the case on Saturday night when she obliterated the competition to win gold in the shot put F37 at the Paralympics in Tokyo, completing an incredible three-year rise from rookie to Paralympic champion.
The 30-year-old's first attempt of 14.36m broke the Paralympic record - and, like each of her five throws to come, would have been good enough for gold.
Adams couldn't quite approach her own world record of 15.50m but her fifth and sixth efforts of 15.12m were more than enough to complete a commanding victory.
Speaking to the Rotorua Daily Post on Sunday, Adams said the fact that she had won still had not fully sunk in, however, it was an emotional victory.
Lisa Adams in action at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Photo / Getty Images
She was visibly emotional immediately after her final throw before going to the stands to embrace her coach and older sister, Dame Valerie Adams - a special moment for the pair who have put hours of work into their Olympic and Paralympic campaigns.
"I'm so tired because you're too wired to sleep, but I think it did start to hit me after the silver medallist threw her last throw. It started brewing and I was trying to hold it off and get my last throw out.
"I couldn't believe we'd actually done it. It starts as a dream and you turn it into a goal. I would always say 'I want to podium' but really you want to go out there and smash it. It's been three years but we did it.
"It was really special to be out there, in the same circle my sister won her medal a few weeks earlier, then hug her and have that post-competition embrace. I was so emotional and had a good cry into her muscular shoulder."
Lisa Adams embraces older sister and coach Valerie Adams after winning gold at the Paralympics. Photo / Getty Images
Adams said she spoke to her son on the phone yesterday morning, someone she thought about a lot during and leading up to the event.
"He told me I couldn't come home if I didn't win a medal, so I was worried I might be homeless when I got back," she laughed.
"When I was out there, I was thinking this is for my kids. During the medal ceremony, I was really emotional. Just reflecting on the last three years of work and thinking about my kids.
"The hours, the years of blood, sweat and tears all lead up to that and then you blink and it's over. I think my preparation was really good and mentally, once I got out there, I had the time of my life."
Meanwhile, back home in Rotorua, there were plenty of people cheering on every throw.
One of those was Rotorua Lakes High School sports coordinator Lisa MacFarlane, who has known Adams since she was a Year 10 student at the school.
MacFarlane said even back then it was clear Adams was a young person with a big heart, great sporting ability and a humble outlook on life.
"I did shed a couple of tears watching her last night, I've known Lisa a long time," she said.
"It was my first year as sports coordinator when she was Year 10 and we took them all on a school camp. I vividly remember part of it was abseiling and I was scared but Lisa did it, she was straight into it, no worries.
"She's so humble, she doesn't blow her own trumpet. She actually made a New Zealand under-18 basketball team as a 14-year-old that year, not a para team, a mainstream team and you could see even then, she had it."
Rotorua's Lisa Adams said her son would not let her come home without a medal. Photo / Getty Images
MacFarlane actually played a role in the very beginnings of Adams' shot put career three years ago.
"I remember getting a call from Lisa saying she was thinking of having a crack with shot put and discus, and asking if I could get some for her to have a play with.
"That's where it all started and since then she's been coming to the school to do her training. Our caretaker drilled holes in the concrete for her kickboard. We are all so proud of her, I knew she had it.
"She was one of the few students who was allowed to wear jandals because she grew out of her shoes so quickly. She was such a hard worker, she had part-time jobs to help look after the younger siblings coming through.
"Hopefully this raises the profile and gets more kids involved in sport. Lisa spoke at our sports awards a few years ago and she was a bit nervous but once she got going she was the bomb, the kids and parents just loved her. She was one of our most inspirational speakers even then.
"It's so nice to see her doing so well."
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said Adams had done the district proud.
"What a phenomenal achievement from a member of one of our great sporting families. It's truly inspiring and uplifting and makes us very proud.
"It's fantastic to see Lisa achieving her dreams and representing New Zealand with such accomplishment. Huge congratulations."
