The Olympic champion has plenty left in the tank to build on her successes, writes Murray McKinnon
When one has won everything possible - an Olympic and a Commonwealth gold, two world titles and a world indoor title - been honoured by the country and received the Halberg sportswoman of the year four times and the supreme award for the past three years, you might think it
would be time to hang up one's sports shoes.
But not Valerie Vili. At Hamilton last Saturday, the Beijing shot-put gold medallist showed there is still plenty left in the tank for chasing further successes.
The world champion sent a clear message to the rest of the world that she is back in business and ready to dominate the shot-put again this year.
In her first competition of the season and in the opening round Vili sent the shot out to 20.25m, to equal her New Zealand allcomers and resident record set exactly a year ago at Waitakere.
Vili's national record is 21.07m, set in winning the world athletic final in Greece in September.
The 25-year-old knows her rivals - mainly eastern European - are still hungry.
"Obviously at the end of the day I'm the hunted and they're the hunter, so I want to make sure I'm on the game as fast as possible," she said.
"It was a pretty good opener, it obviously set the standard for the rest of the world and showed them all where we're at."
A giant on the international scene, Vili enjoyed the chance to compete locally at the Porritt Classic. "I don't compete in New Zealand a lot so it is a great opportunity."
Vili had only one other throw over 20m - 20.12m, and in the final round lost her balance out of the front of the circle.
"I was not happy with some of the throws, that's the way the competition goes, you foul some but at the end of the day the end result is what counts."
Jessica Cerival, of France, who has been in the country for the past three weeks training, was second with 16.99m.
While Vili was competing, her husband Bertrand was taking part in the discus throw from an adjacent circle.
Bertrand Vili, who represented France at the Berlin world championships last year, won the discus with 56.17m.
Valerie Vili said it was a good lead up to the world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar in mid-March, where she will defend her title.
"My next competition is in Sydney next weekend followed by a meeting in Melbourne and then the world indoors. It will be the first time, for a while, to get pushed by other competitors from other countries and that's a bonus for me, because I don't get it back here."
Possibly Vili's only other competition in the country this season will be at the national championships in Christchurch at the end of next month. Last March in Wellington, Vili collected the national title for the ninth year in a row.
Vili's long-term goal is a simple one: to stay unbeaten for as long as possible.
"I've been unbeaten for two years now. I also want to get great consistency over 20 metres," she said.
After retaining the world title in Berlin last August, Vili said she would continue in the sport for as long as she keeps enjoying it.
"I'm enjoying it, I enjoy what I do. I go out to compete and have fun. The day I wake up and not enjoy it, that's the day I'll hang my shoes up."
"For the moment I'm loving it."
