No mercy for drug cheats: Valerie Adams

The 39-year-old, who hung up her 'size 14' shoes after winning a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, spoke to DH about her journey, switching from being an athlete to the chair of the World Athletics (WA) Athletes’ Commission, doping and more.

Bengaluru: Challenges are antidotes for Valerie Adams. The most accomplished female shot-putter of all time, who embarked on a path to greatness after losing her mother as a 15-year-old, has won two Olympic gold (Beijing 2008, London 2012), a silver (Rio 2016) and bronze (Tokyo 2021), four outdoor and four indoor world championship golds each and has a winning streak of 56 competitions between 2010 and 2014 despite eight sports-related surgeries. 

A member of a family of athletes - younger brother Steven Adams, an NBA player, and sister Lisa Adams, a paralympic shot putter - the New Zealander from Rotorua is here in Bengaluru as the brand ambassador of the TCS World 10K run scheduled on April 28. 

The 39-year-old, who hung up her 'size 14' shoes after winning a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, spoke about her journey, switching from being an athlete to the chair of the World Athletics (WA) Athletes’ Commission, doping and more. 

Excerpts.. 

How did you get into shot put?

From the beginning, my career was quite unique but hard. I was 14 years old when I first took up shot put and I was 15 when I lost my mother. That’s where the inspiration came from and the dream was really put together on the 15th of September while watching the Sydney Olympic Games (1999) and the next day is when my mom passed away in my arms. It was at that very moment that I thought to myself that I want to carry on in the sport of athletics and make my mum proud. 

Why do you consider the Tokyo bronze more memorable than the rest of your Olympic medals? 

Having children is a tough thing on a woman’s body. And two kids have an even bigger impact especially after almost losing my life in one of my pregnancies. So having that drive as a mother to train for the Olympics was pretty crazy and qualifying for it was a little bit insane. Nobody really believed that I was going to do it. But I knew of my capabilities. 10 months after undergoing two major surgeries I qualified for Tokyo. So when I won the bronze with the picture of my two kids on the podium it really felt like a gold.  

Your influence on your siblings’ sporting careers

For me as an older sister, I'm very proud. Three other brothers and (as many) sisters played for NZ’s basketball teams. Steven (plays for Houston Rockets) has been phenomenal in changing the sport in New Zealand as participation in basketball has gone up. But as strong as he is, I can still beat him up. That’s just the truth. 

Your advice to Neeraj Chopra on defending the Olympic title? 

I finished second because of the drug cheat. Realistically I defended my title seven days later. Anyway, I think for Neeraj, there will be a lot of pressure not only from himself but from the country and the federation. He should continue to stay in his lane and focus on what he is going to do and try to shut out as much noise as possible. He has every potential to do well and win. 

Do you think WADA has to do more to curb doping menace? 

I myself have been impacted by a drug cheat (Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus) in the 2012 London Olympics. The one who won gold took the moment away from me, so I know the impacts of it. I think WADA is heading towards the right direction in combating drugs in sport. There is always more that can be done. If you ask me, I have no mercy. Once someone is caught doping they should be kicked out. That’s just me. Once a cheater, always a cheater. 

Your thoughts on WA announcing prize money to Oly gold medals in athletics in Paris? 

I think it's great. Its progress. Athletics is a sport where we don't make a ton of money unlike cricket or rugby. So we are taking the lead in this space. Hopefully other sport federations will follow. All the athletes have welcomed it. 

What do you have to say to the other federations who call the move unfair on those who cannot afford it? 

Well those federations should work hard to make it happen. Maybe not at the same level but at the end of the day you cannot punish one sport for trying to and making it work for their athletes just because you cannot make it happen. 

How has the switch from an athlete to being elected the chair of WA’s athletes commission been? 

It's been an amazing journey because you have to remember that athletes are quite narrow-minded. As in, all they think about is training, eating, sleeping and competing. That’s their job. But now I understand why decisions are made, why organisations decide to do what they do, or why money spins where it spins and so on. My position as the chair is to be the voice of the athletes in our organisation. Equally, it is to ensure that our voices are heard globally because athletics is very Europe centric.