Lisa Adams retires: Kiwi shot put champion retires before Paris Paralympics

Lisa Adams celebrates after winning gold in the women’s shot put F37 final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Photo / Getty Images

World and Paralympic shot put champion Lisa Adams has decided to retire from the sport on the eve of the Paris Paralympics.

After lengthy consideration, Adams, 33, has made the decision to focus on being a mum and to spend more time with her 11-year-old son Hikairo.

She leaves the sport boasting a huge legacy across her six-year career, winning two Para world titles and Tokyo Paralympic shot put F37 gold. She is also the current owner of the world shot F37 record.

“It has not been an easy decision to retire from athletics,” Adams said. “The sport has given me so much and many happy memories, but I just felt the passion and energy to keep training every day was no longer there.

“Some might wonder at the timing of my decision so close to the Para Athletics World Championships and with the Paralympic Games on the horizon, but I felt I had given it all I could. Following retirement, I look forward to spending more time as a mum.”

Adams is the sister of multiple Olympic and world shot put champion Dame Valerie Adams, who has coached her during her career.

“I leave the sport with no regrets,” Lisa Adams said. “I am immensely proud with what I achieved in my six years in athletics, with the highlight winning gold in Tokyo knowing I shared the same circle as big sister, who won her fourth shot put Olympic medal just a few weeks earlier.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to my big sister Valerie for guiding me throughout my athletics career, I will be forever grateful for her loyal and faithful support.

“It is too early to say what next for me, I’m taking some time to rest, come home and be mum. It is awesome to see how the profile of Para athletics has developed in recent times and I will be fully supporting the New Zealand team from the couch at both the Para Athletics World Championships and Paralympic Games.”

Diagnosed from an early age with left hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, Adams was a late starter to the sport of athletics. Identified as an athlete of potential by Athletics New Zealand Para lead Raylene Bates, who had read an article about Adams playing rugby union, she was encouraged to throw the shot put and discus.

Making her competitive debut aged 27 at the 2018 Victorian Championships in Melbourne, her huge potential was immediately apparent and later that season, she completed the Para shot and discus double at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Hamilton.

Making rapid progress, she continued to impress and less than 18 months after taking up the sport, she produced a stunning display at the 2019 Para Athletics World Championships in Dubai. Claiming victory by a near two-metre margin, she dominated the final of the women’s shot F37, setting a world record mark of 14.80m.

In 2020, she bettered this mark with a huge toss of 15.28m at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Christchurch, before later that year posting the existing world record mark of 15.50m in Hastings to further underline her special talent.

The Rotorua-based athlete maintained her dominance at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, setting four Paralympic records with a best of 15.12m to claim gold by a commanding victory margin of almost a metre and a half.

In 2022, Adams added the Oceania title to her growing collection and last year she successfully retained her Para world crown in Paris, adding 4cm to her championship record with a best toss of 14.84m.

After undergoing shoulder surgery in September last year, she made her final competitive outing at the 2024 New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington last month.

She retires from the sport as one of the all-time Para athletics greats in Aotearoa and with an unbeaten record in pinnacle events.

Adams also departs with Para athletics in New Zealand on the crest of a wave following the team’s nine-medal haul at the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships in Paris.

“I’ve learned so much while coaching my sister,” Dame Valerie Adams said.

“It’s been an incredible experience with incredible memories made together. Her transformation from a young mother to an inspiring and resilient athlete and woman is a testament to her perseverance and commitment. I am so proud of all that Lisa has accomplished during her time participating in this amazing sport of athletics.”