19 Jul 2012

Adams throws season best a week out from Olympics

12:07 pm on 19 July 2012

One of the country's leading medal hopes for the London Olympics, Valerie Adams, has produced a season best performance just over a week out from the start of the Games.

Adams, the reigning Olympic and world shot put champion, threw 21.11 metres at a meeting in Lucerne in Switzerland, her final competitive outing ahead of the Games.

It was 13 centimetres off her New Zealand record of 21.24 set at last year's World Championships.

It's her second-best throw ever but is two centimetres short of the season-best effort of by her long-time rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk.

The Belarussian has consistently thrown over 21 metres this year meaning Adams' dominance of the event for the past couple of years could be under threat.