Athletics: Vili in shape to atone for her agony in Athens

Valerie Vili left this week for the world athletics championships in Helsinki knowing she is in the best form of her career.

And it would not surprise if she won a medal in the women's shot event, maybe even the gold.

Still only 20, Vili beat last year's Olympic champion Yumeileidi Cumba, of Cuba, three times at international meetings in Brazil in May. In each competition she bettered 19m, throwing 19.04m, 19.41m and a national record 19.52m.

Since then her training has been going exceptionally well, according to her coach Kirsten Hellier, who is accompanying Vili on her world championship campaign.

"I don't want to put any undue pressure on Valerie except to say that she is in excellent shape," Hellier said.

Vili and Hellier will be based in London, but Vili will have two meetings in Spain, on July 12 and 16, to sharpen up before the world championships, which start on August 5.

Vili will be keen to erase her bitter memory from last year's Athens Olympics when she missed qualifying in the top eight for a further three throws by just 3cm.

She then learned that the winner of the shot event, Russian Irena Korzhanenko, had tested positive for steroid use and had been disqualified.

Cumba, who had finished second behind Korzhanenko, was awarded gold. Cumba threw 19.59m, with Nadine Kleinert, of Germany, second at 19.55m. Vili's best was 18.56m, although she had thrown 18.79m a day earlier in the qualifying round.