Adams vows to push on minus coach
OLYMPIC GAMES: There was a day when a setback like this would have knocked Valerie Adams off her stride, and rippled all the way to competition night.
But not now. Not after all she’s been through. Not with her shot at Olympic history in Rio beckoning.
Adams yesterday announced she would be heading to the Rio Games next weekend without her coach, and right-hand man, Jean-Pierre Egger, who is unable to travel after requiring a knee operation following a recent fall.
It’s a setback, no doubt, for the back-toback Olympic shot put champion who is bidding to become the first New Zealander to win gold at three straight Games.
Egger, now 73, has been in Adams’ corner since 2010, and they have become awfully close over that time. He has become somewhat of a father figure in her life, as well as a strong-minded coach capable of bringing the best out in the Kiwi colossus.
But Adams, after battling through a succession of surgeries that wrecked her 2015 season, is considered to be strong enough, both mentally and physically, to take her coach’s absence in her stride in Rio.
The 31-year-old was certainly making the right noises after electing to make the news public.