Having dabbled in sports like rugby and basketball, a little over three years ago Rotorua's Lisa Adams tried her hand at para shot put for the first time.
Almost immediately, a star was born.
Stepping out of the shadows of famous siblings Valerie and Steve, a year later Lisa broke the women's shot put F37 world record which she went on to break a further three times along with winning gold at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.
Her success in Dubai allowed her to dream of competing at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused some disruption, delaying the event by a year, but next month that dream will finally come true.
Adams, who has left hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy affecting the movement and growth of muscles on the limbs of one side of her body, said she felt she was on track to peak in Tokyo.
"Training is going well, I feel like I'm in good condition," she said.
"People ask if I'm ready now and I say 'no', but when I get there I hope to be in the best condition possible.
"I don't really know what that looks like, I still feel like I'm a toddler in terms of training. The world champs was my international debut. That was a little taste of the international stage but there's an added intensity when it's a Paralympic year.
"Physically, I'm stronger since then and I'm leaner. I feel more mentally prepared too, I was so green back then and now I feel mentally stronger."
A crucial part of Lisa's preparations is having unequivocal trust in her coach and older sister Valerie.
"Honestly, there are not enough words in the galaxy to describe how grateful I am to have her.
"She has basically paved the way for me as an athlete through her own experiences, all her years of knowledge, and I feel so honoured and privileged to be able to tap into that.
"That's as an athlete, as a sister she's amazing, on the field and off it. Things like how I carry myself as a person, she's given me things to think about in terms of my profile and carving my own career.
"She knows I'm a person and not just Valerie's sister. We're so close and I don't need uppers, I kind of thrive off criticism. What can be better? How can I be better? I always want to improve and I can't imagine doing it with anyone else because she's my sister and I trust her."
Lisa said, being relatively new to the sport, postponement of the Paralympics by a year actually gave her more time to work on perfecting her craft.
"Personally, it being delayed was probably a blessing in disguise for me. Over the last year, we've gone through the trenches, and come out the other end for the better.
"I see it as I got an opportunity to train for another year and now I'm in really good physical shape. I think through all of this we've learned to be even more resilient and adaptable."
She said Covid-19 was at the back of her mind but she knew she had to focus on the job at hand.
"We love what we do so we want to go and compete on the world stage but with that, we're willingly making ourselves vulnerable.
"Common sense is a big part of it and just being extra careful, extra safe. We're just doing the best we can do with the situation, we just have to deal with it and do as instructed."
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are running from July 23 to August 8.
The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics run from August 24 to September 5.
Lisa Adams
Sport: Para shot put
Birth place: Rotorua
Born: 1990
Lisa Adams began competing in para athletics in 2018 after an article in the Rotorua Daily Post about her playing rugby was spotted by Athletics New Zealand coach Raylene Bates.
A few months later, she attended a classification event in Hastings and was encouraged to try shot put and discus.
A year later Adams broke the women's shot put F37 world record which she went on to break a further three times along with winning gold at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships.
Valerie Adams
Sport: Shot put
Birth place: Rotorua
Born: 1984
Dame Valerie Adams is one of New Zealand's most successful and celebrated Olympic athletes.
She has competed at four editions of the Olympic Games, winning an impressive two golds and one silver medal in shot put.
Her personal best is a massive 21.24m, thrown at the World Championships in 2011.
Patrick Bevin
Sport: Cycling - road and track
Birth Place: Hamilton
Born: 1991
After competing at the Junior World Championships on track and road as a teenager, Patrick Bevin caught the eye of professional cycling teams, currently riding for Israel Start-Up Nation.
He won a stage of the Santos Tour Down Under in 2019 and has a number of World Tour podiums, especially as a time trialler. He was edged out of a bronze medal by three seconds at the World Championships in 2019 by current world champion Filippo Ganna.
Peter Burling
Sport: Sailing
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1991
Peter Burling is half of one of the most successful sailing duos in recent history and, together with Blair Tuke, will be looking to defend the gold medal they won in the 49er class at the Rio Olympic Games.
Pete and Blair won in Rio by a mammoth 43 points, the biggest winning margin in any Olympic regatta in the modern era.
Lisa Carrington
Sport: Kayak - Sprint
Birth Place: Tauranga
Born: 1989
The Tokyo Olympic Games will be Lisa Carrington's third Olympic appearance.
At the London 2012 Olympics she won K1 200m gold. Four years later at the Rio Olympics, she retained her K1 200m title and also snared K1 500m bronze to become the first double female medallist from New Zealand at a single Olympic Games.
Olivia Chance
Sport: Football
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1993
Tokyo 2020 will be Olivia Chance's first Olympic Games.
The midfielder has previously played in Iceland and England, after spending time in the US college system.
She returned to the Southern Hemisphere for the 2020/21 W-League season with Brisbane Roar. There she established herself as having an eye for the spectacular, netting a couple of goal of the season contenders for the Queensland club.
Samantha Charlton
Sport: Hockey
Birth place: Wellington
Born: 1991
Black Sticks vice-captain Samantha Charlton will be heading to her third Olympics in Tokyo after placing fourth at Rio 2016 and London 2012.
The Tauranga midfielder has also been to two Commonwealth Games, winning gold at Gold Coast 2018 and bronze at Glasgow 2014.
Dylan Collier
Sport: Rugby Sevens
Birth place: Ōpōtiki
Born: 1991
Dylan Collier was a member of the Warriors Under-20 side before picking up sevens in 2014 and was part of the National Sevens' winning Waikato team in 2015, his form at that tournament securing national selection.
He won Commonwealth Games gold and a Rugby World Cup Sevens title in 2018.
Stacey Fluhler
Sport: Rugby Sevens
Birth place: Papakura
Born: 1995
Stacey was first selected in the New Zealand women's sevens team in 2016, and in 2017 won the World Cup with the Black Ferns. A natural athlete, the former Whakatāne High School student has also represented New Zealand in touch rugby and at a provincial level in netball, hockey, and athletics.
She had a stellar season for the New Zealand women's sevens in 2019/2020, finishing as the World Series top try scorer and claiming the DHL Impact Player of the season.
Callum Gilbert
Sport: Canoe/Kayak - Slalom
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1996
Callum Gilbert will be competing in his first-ever Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020.
He will compete in the men's K1 event. His selection follows a strong performance on the 2019 ICF World Championship Tour, where he made it to three of the four semifinals, with an overall fifth place best finish.
This result was the best Kiwi male finish in a World Cup K1 event.
Sarah Hirini
Sport: Rugby Sevens
Birth place: Feilding
Born: 1992
Sarah Hirini is one of the leading sevens players in the world.
The New Zealand women's sevens captain has an impressive list of accolades to her name including Sevens World Champion in 2013 and 2018, Olympic silver medallist, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and six-time World Series winner.
She has been named as the female flag bearer for the New Zealand team at the Tokyo Olympics.
Luuka Jones
Sport: Canoe/Kayak - Slalom
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1988
Luuka Jones will be competing in her fourth Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020.
The Tauranga-born paddler won a historic silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Jones qualified seventh for the K1-final, finishing with a stunning run down the 24-gate 242m course in a time of 101.28s. It was New Zealand's first-ever Olympic medal in canoe slalom.
At Tokyo 2020 Jones will compete in both K1 and C1.
Rose Keddell
Sport: Hockey
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1994
Tauranga midfielder Rose Keddell will be heading to her second Olympic Games, after placing fourth at Rio 2016.
With more than 200 caps to her name, she has also been to two Commonwealth Games – winning gold at Gold Coast 2018 and bronze at Glasgow 2014.
Ngarohi McGarvey-Black
Sport: Rugby sevens
Born: 1996
Ngarohi McGarvey-Black made his New Zealand men's sevens debut in Las Vegas in 2018.
Catching the attention of national selectors playing for Bay of Plenty at the regional sevens in 2017, he cemented his inclusion in the national squad after impressing at the national sevens tournament.
He was named Player of the Final in Cape Town 2019 and Hamilton 2020 and was voted Players' Player of the Year at the NZRPA awards that season.
Molly Meech
Sport: Sailing
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1993
The Tokyo Olympic Games will be Molly's second Olympic Games after she teamed up with Alex Maloney to win silver in the 49erFX at the Rio 2016 Games.
The pair have enjoyed considerable success and have been among the world's top combinations for most of the last decade. They will go to Tokyo aiming to go one better.
Jordan Parry
Sport: Rowing
Birth place: Tauranga
Born: 1995
Jordan Parry will make his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 in the men's single scull.
He was a member of the 2019 men's quadruple sculls, which narrowly missed out on automatic Olympic qualification at the 2019 World Championships however after a successful summer season in the single Jordan earned his place for selection in the men's single during the elite men's trials.
Nando Pijnaker
Sport: Football
Birth place: Brummen, The Netherlands
Born: 1999
Tokyo 2020 will be Nando's first Olympic Games.
The 22-year-old defender played for Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs before moving to Swedish side Torslanda IK in 2019 following the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In 2020, Nando signed with Portuguese side Rio Ave, making his debut for their U-23 side in the 20/21 season.
Paige Satchell
Sport: Football
Birth Place: Rotorua
Born: 1998
Paige Satchell has been named as a member of the Football Ferns squad to compete in Tokyo at the Olympics, after being a travelling reserve at Rio.
She plays for Canberra United in the W-League. She has played for the New Zealand national team in the under-17, under-20, and senior levels.
Dylan Schmidt
Sport: Gymnastics - Trampoline
Birth place: Southport
Born: 1997
Dylan, who moved to Waihī as a 6-year-old, was the first New Zealander to be selected to the trampoline event at an Olympic Games, at Rio 2016.
His selection to Tokyo 2020 makes him one of the first New Zealand gymnasts (alongside teammate Misha Koudinov, men's artistic) to be selected to a second Olympic Games.
He finished seventh at Rio 2016.
Sam Tanner
Sport: Athletics - 1500m
Birth place: Pāpāmoa
Born: 2000
Tokyo 2020 will be Sam Tanner's first Olympic Games.
He achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for the 1500m with a personal best of 3m 34.72s in New York last February, breaking the New Zealand indoor record held by Nick Willis.
In the process, he wiped nearly two seconds from his previous best (3m 36.44s in Tauranga in January) and also set a United States collegiate record.
Liz Thompson
Sport: Hockey
Birth place: Thames
Born: 1994
Heading to her second Olympics after Rio 2016, Liz Thompson will be nearing 200 caps for the Black Sticks in Tokyo.
She has also been to two Commonwealth Games, winning gold at Gold Coast 2018 and bronze at Glasgow 2014.
Nicole van der Kaay
Sport: Triathlon
Birth place: Rotorua
Born: 1996
The Taupō athlete was attracted to triathlon for its variety and capacity to absorb her boundless energy.
2018 saw Nicole's best results including a fourth-place finish in the ITU Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast and podiums at various other ITU events.
She podiumed with a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in the Mixed Team Relay at the Gold Coast in 2018.
She also placed seventh and top Kiwi female at the same Commonwealth Games in the individual triathlon.
Joe Webber
Sport: Rugby Sevens
Birth place: Tokoroa
Born: 1993
The Bay of Plenty provincial player has had an impressive representative career, being selected for the Māori All Blacks in 2014 and earlier, New Zealand Schools and New Zealand Under-20 in 2013.
Webber's 2018 season was hampered with injury and illness which saw him miss the Commonwealth Games and World Cup Sevens but he made his return to the field, and to form, in 2019.
Hayden Wilde
Sport: Triathlon
Birth place: Taupō
Born: 1997
Tokyo 2020 will be Hayden's first Olympic Games. He is currently ranked 12th in the world.
He claimed a bronze medal at the 2019 Tokyo ITU World Triathlon Olympic Qualification event. He posted a fifth on the World Cup circuit in Leeds in June 2021 and third over the line in the elite men at the 2021 European Championships in Austria.
He was part of the gold-winning U23 Mixed Team Relay Worlds in 2019.
Ella Williams
Sport: Surfing
Birth place: Hamilton
Born: 1995
At 8, Ella wrote on a surfing poster that she wanted to be a world champion and put it on a wall beside her bed.
In 2013, she became the first and only New Zealander to win the women's world junior championships, having received a wild card into the event.
She was taught to surf at 4 by her parents. She lives in Whangamatā and when she is not competing Ella works at the family surf shop.
She qualified for Tokyo by placing as the first Oceania female at the World Surfing Games in 2019.
Jamie Searle
Sport: Football
Birth place: Hamilton
Born: 2000
Whakatāne footballer Jamie Searle is the backup goalkeeper for the All Whites at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Searle was registered with Cambridge FC, Tauranga City, and Melville United as he developed through youth ranks and into senior football.
He landed a contract with Swansea City under-23s after a spell with Aston Villa and has since put pen to paper on a new one-year agreement, that includes the option for a further 12 months.
William Warbrick
Sport: Rugby Sevens (Travelling Reserve)
Birth place: Kawerau
Born: 1998
William Warbrick signed a two-year contract for the All Blacks Sevens at the start of the 2019/2020 season and will head to Tokyo with the side as a travelling reserve.
The Kawerau-born forward was first identified at the 2018 Red Bull Ignite7 as one of the MVPs and from there was selected for the All Blacks Sevens development team in 2019.
He made his debut in Cape Town 2019, winning his first World Series title.
Additional information sourced from www.olympic.org.nz
Crusaders boss says cowbells will be melted down at the gate.