Valerie Adams. Valerie Kasanita Adams (formerly known as Valerie Vili), ONZM (born 6 October 1984) is a shot putter from New Zealand.
She is a four-time World champion, three time World Indoor champion and two-time Olympic and Commonwealth champion. She currently holds the New Zealand, Oceanian, Commonwealth and equal World Championship records with a personal best throw of 21.24 metres. Career[edit] In 1998 Adams met former javelin thrower Kirsten Hellier, who would become her coach for the next 11 years. Adams first came to prominence when winning the World Youth Championships in 2001, with a throw of 16.87 m. She finished fifth at the 2003 World Championships at eighteen years of age. In 2007, Adams went to the Osaka World Championships as a favourite to take a medal due to her being one of only three women to throw over 20 m before the championships.
At the 2009 Grande Prêmio Rio in Brazil Adams won the competition with a new personal best and Oceanian area record of 20.69 m. Personal life[edit] Mark Todd (equestrian) Mark Todd salutes the crowd, having completed his dressage test on Gandalf during the CIC*** event at Barbury International Horse Trials.
Sir Mark James Todd KNZM CBE (born 1 March 1956), is a New Zealand horseman noted for his accomplishments in the discipline of eventing, voted Rider of the 20th century by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, (Fédération Equestre Internationale).[1] He won gold medals at Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) Olympics, the Badminton Horse Trials on four occasions,[2] the Burghley Horse Trials five times,[3] and as a member of New Zealand’s Eventing team he won gold medals at the World Championships in 1990 and 1998 (Rome), plus 20 or more other international events, and numerous other international individual and team titles.
On 25 April 2011, Todd completed a fourth Badminton victory riding NZB Land Vision, becoming the oldest winner of the event.[2] Todd is recognized as a pioneer of three-day eventing in New Zealand. Mahé Drysdale. Drysdale attended Tauranga Boys' College in Tauranga, New Zealand, then the University of Auckland.[3] He began rowing at university at the age of 18.
He gave up rowing to concentrate on his studies, but began rowing again after watching fellow New Zealander Rob Waddell win gold at the 2000 Olympic Games.[4] Drysdale is a member of the West End Rowing Club in Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand and Tideway Scullers, London. World Championships[edit] Drysdale began competing at World Cup level in 2002, in the New Zealand coxless four. After the 2004 Olympic Games, in which his New Zealand crew finished fifth in the final, Drysdale switched to the single scull, winning the 2005 World Championships at Gifu, Japan, despite having broken two vertebrae in a crash with a water skier earlier in the year.[5] Olympic Games[edit] Drysdale was officially selected as New Zealand's Olympic heavyweight sculler for the Beijing Olympics on 7 March 2008.
New Zealand national championships[edit] Awards[edit]