New Zealand's Valerie Vili [ Valerie Adams ] stands proud after winning Gold in the Womens Shot Put, at the Commonwealth Games, Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 23, 2006. Credit:NZPA/Wayne Drough
Rotorua's Valerie Adams will line-up in the women's shot put competition at the Adidas New York Diamond League targeting a special achievement.
Tomorrow morning at 8.55am (NZT), Adams commences her third Diamond League meeting of the season, following wins in Doha and Rome. A win will take the double-Olympic champion
to 50 consecutive victories as well as a clear lead in the Diamond League standings.
Adams last lost a competition on August 18, 2010 in Zurich and since then has had wins in 49 events, an astounding demonstration of her domination of the sport. The only two athletes to have beaten Adams since August 2005 are both currently suspended for anti-doping violations.
While her form this year has been moderate by Adams' own standards, with recent throws of 20.01m in Rome last Friday and 19.69m in Marrakech on Sunday, she is still head and shoulders above her opposition, and is hoping to improve her own New York meeting record of 20.60m, set in 2012.
Adams' closest recent rival Christina Schwanitz of Germany, who finished second to the four-time world champion at the world indoor championships in March and at the Rome Diamond League, has chosen to bypass the New York meeting. The biggest challenge is likely to come from Russian Yevgeniya who has a best this year of 19.33m, compared to the New Zealander's 20.67m.
