Film shows why Dame Val’s More Than Gold
The film More Than Gold reminds you why some sportspeople are very good, and some are great.
Dame Valerie Adams is in Auckland City Hospital. She had been recuperating from the Caesarean birth of son Kepaleli in March, 2019, when she was thrown into the agony that comes from a twisted bowel.
For a horrific day or so, she feels as if knives are being driven into her abdomen. Surgeons operate, and on screen, we see Adams not long after the operation, looking exhausted.
One of her first acts? She asks for a calendar and starts working out how many days she’ll have to train for the Tokyo Olympics.
More Than Gold offers a wonderful insight into the life and career of a woman whose story proves again that while some of us are dubious of the claim that sport builds character, I’m one who believes it reflects character.
While writing Adams’ 2012 autobiography, my wife and I grew to love her. We were lucky enough to see her humour and kindness at close hand, elements that light up the new film.
Director Briar March outlines how Adams, so tall at intermediate school that she towered over some of her teachers, was bullied because of her height and powerful physique.
The fascination is how the physical elements that had made her an outlier would soon win her respect, as she went from hating being the biggest kid in class to being an international-class athlete, heading to places she had never heard of, such as Poland, to compete at world championships.
There’s a lovely touch when an interview with a former teacher, Teena Tamati, provides a reminder of how important acts of kindness can be. When Adams first started setting shot put records, she did so in bare feet. Throwing shoes were beyond her household’s tight budget.
In the men’s section of a sports shop, Teena bought a pair of shoes for her that in effect put the wind beneath Adams’ wings.
Adams’ determination to succeed was born in the emotionally shattering loss of her mother, who died in a 15-year-old Valerie’s arms in a South Auckland hospice.
The teenager made a promise to her mother and herself that her throwing abilities wouldn’t be wasted, and from that day forward, her drive to succeed was extraordinary.
Watching her train was almost breathtaking. Massive weights were flung around and her explosiveness was demonstrated with standing twofooted jumps over a series of hurdles.
The great ones have always dug deep. Triple Olympic gold medal runner Peter Snell finished his first run through the Waita¯kere Ranges sobbing in the lounge of coach Arthur Lydiard’s house.
Adams’ commitment is legendary in athletics circles, and in More Than Gold, we get a sense of her work and what she is really like as a person.