Athletics: Adams sends records tumbling

Valerie Adams in action during the Womens Shot Putt during the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix Samsung Diamond League 2012. Photo / Getty

Valerie Adams has set New Zealand and Oceania indoor records and a meeting record in winning the final Diamond League competition for the season in Zurich Railway Station, where she also secured the Samsung Diamond League Shot Put title for 2012.

Adams' best throw of 20.81 metres added 27 centimetres to her previous indoor record of 20.54m, recorded when she won the World Indoor championships in March this year in Istanbul. It is also 30cm further than her winning throw at the Zurich meeting last year and a new meeting record by 17 centimetres.

"I'm very pleased. I haven't had the easiest time coming into these Diamond league meets but I found them very enjoyable and it was really good just to get back competing," Adams said.

"I have competed three times in the last 10 days and two times I was better than at the Olympic Games. I'm just happy to finish the Diamond League series on a high and to do it in Zurich in the train station is so amazing. It's the sort of competition I want to be held at home because I think it brings big performances for us athletes. Judging on how I felt yesterday, the crowd really got me going and I was just happy my coaches were there to experience it amongst other Kiwis who live in Switzerland."

In an amazingly consistent display, the two times Olympic Champion and three times World Champion landed all six attempts between 20.36 and 20.81 metres. American Michelle Carter finished second with 19.25 metres and Cleopatra Borel from Trinidad third on 18.66 metres.

The former holder of the meeting record was the disgraced Nadzeya Ostapchuk, Adams' recent nemesis, so to beat that was an extra bonus for the New Zealander.

"The goal today was to break the meeting record that was held by Ostapchuk so I succeeded in that," she said.

"Just the energy I have for the competition and the want to succeed and the want to throw more is enough for me to compete against. it was a great competition and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was like one big party but everyone was trying to shot put in the party.

Adams victory earned her a further eight points in the Samsung Diamond League, taking her total to 28 points for the series, lifting the Diamond Race Trophy for the second consecutive year. In a distant second place was Carter on nine points while third place overall went to Borel.

The victory also extended Adam's unbeaten streak to 29, currently the longest by a woman in the sport and not far behind German Robert Harting's 32-meet run in the Discus Throw. Adams' last defeat was at the Zurich Weltklasse over two years ago