Adams suffers rare defeat as Gold Coast beckons

Athletics At the past three Commonwealth Games, Valerie Adams has convincingly won gold. Her quest might be trickier on the Gold Coast next month.

Adams suffered a rare loss in competition at the Big Shot event in Christchurch yesterday, beaten by Canada’s Brittany Crew.

In just her second competition since the birth of her daughter in October, Adams recorded 18.06m — not enough to eclipse Crew, who put

18.42m in the final round. Adams will surely improve as she gets more competition before the Games, but with just under a month to go, time is running out.

Her gold prospects are further clouded by the form of Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd, second at the world indoor championships with a national record 19.22m.

To win her three Commonwealth titles, Adams recorded 19.88m,

20.47m and 19.66m, and while her best is far superior to that of her competitors, Commonwealth Games gold is no sure thing given her shortened preparation.

The same can’t be said for Tom Walsh, who continued his solid form, backing up his win in Timaru with another in Christchurch.

Walsh had three efforts over 21m, with his best of 21.65m placing him more than a metre ahead of secondplaced Jamaican O’Dayne Richards.

Walsh had mixed feelings about his performance.

“For me to throw consistently around that 21.50 mark, really happy with that, but I’m also frustrated. I felt I was just sitting back and not getting everything through it as well as I did the other night in Timaru.”

Walsh is pleased with his progress towards the Commonwealth Games, but admits he hasn’t found his top form in New Zealand.

“Probably subconsciously, I’m a little bit off my peak because it’s not world indoors any more and the Commonwealth Games are right around the corner. It’s been two comps in three days, so it’s always a little tough to be in top form.”

The final leg of the shot put series is in Waitakere on March 25.