Athletics: Valerie Adams wins event

Valerie Adams won a small shot put meet in Slovakia overnight. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand's Olympic champion Valerie Adams continued her steady improvement with victory in the women's shot put at a small meet in Slovakia.

Adams threw 20.37m yesterday, her best effort for some time, to beat a field that didn't include her arch rival Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus.

After a couple of early foul throws, Adams improved with each effort at Dubnica nad Vahom, bettering 20m twice as she head off Cleopatra Borel-Brown of Trinidad and Tobago (19.30m best) and Natalia Duco of Chile (17.67m).

Adams' performance came just three days after she threw a best of 20.02m in the Diamond League meet at Zurich, second behind the 20.63m of Ostapchuk, the seventh time the Belarussian head her measure this year.

The pair will meet again at the Continental Cup in Split, Croatia on September 4-5.

- NZPA