NZOC forced to talk to govt about admin error

New Zealand shotputter Valerie Adams almost didn't get the chance to compete because of an admin mishap. Photo / File

New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) officials will be forced to explain an administrative blunder that almost saw shotput champ Valerie Adams and four other New Zealand athletes miss out on competing in the London Games.

The night before Adams was due to compete she noticed her name was not included in the shotput competition online.

The error was corrected and Adams received her competition bib just hours before stepping in to the stadium. She went on to win a silver medal in the event.

The NZOC blamed New Zealand's athletics section manager Raelene Bates for failing to correctly complete entry forms for Adams, 1500m runner Lucy van Dalen, decathlete Brent Newdick, javelin thrower Stuart Farquhar and 50km walker Quentin Rew.

Sport and Recreation Minister Murray McCully told TV3's The Nation programme that Adams' coach, Nick Cowan, asked for a formal meeting once the athletics team returned to New Zealand.

The meeting is likely to happen next week, he said.

"This is an NZOC issue - it's their territory - but we're a significant stakeholder. We're significant funders of high performance sport, so I want to see us all put our heads together to make sure all the lessons are learnt for something that should never have happened.''

Mr McCully said Adams was a "tough lady'' but it was not useful to speculate whether the error affected her performance.