Kiwi Olympic champion Valerie Adams joins us for a live Q+A.
Posted by nzherald.co.nz on Thursday, September 15, 2016
Valerie Adams believes she still has more to give in her sport.
The double Olympic champion and Rio silver medallist this morning dismissed any talk of retirement, publicly committing through to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Fresh from claiming her fifth Diamond League crown in Belgium last week, Adams and husband Gabriel Price jetted back into the country yesterday to surprise family and friends.
She stopped by the NZME offices today to share her thoughts on her Olympic campaign and her plans for the future, stating she has her sights set on a fifth Commonwealth Games.
"I still love what I do and the Commonwealth Games is so important to New Zealand, so I guess those are the only two reasons I really need. But also I feel like physically I can still carry on," said Adams.
"It's important to have a goal in mind and have a timeframe set. But I really need to sit down with the team and plan out the next couple of years."
Olympian Valerie Adams arrives at a special assembly in her honour at her old school, Southern Cross Campus Junior School in Mangere. Photo / Jason Oxenham.
Adams also dropped into her old school, the Southern Cross Campus in Mangere, where she was welcomed by a powerful haka, addressed an assembly and handed out certificates to the students.
Olympian Valerie Adams with students from her old school at Southern Cross Campus Junior School in Mangere. Photo / Jason Oxenham.
Adams hinted motherhood could also be on the cards for her, with the 31 year-old keen to start a family sooner rather than later.
"I've always wanted to have a family, I love children so much and I am getting a little bit on the clucky side," she said.
"I'm Tongan, what Tongans don't have children?"
For now though, Adams is looking forward to having a proper break. For the past four years Adams' off-season has involved going under the knife followed by the long and gruelling rehab process.
While she'll be out of the gym for the next 4-6 weeks, Adams said she plans to stay active with completing the Tongariro Crossing high on her to-do list.
"Going forward I think it is important to give your body a break so it has time to rejuvenate. In the last three or four years I haven't really had a break I've come back and had surgery so my break has been rehabbing."
