Athletics: Vili makes it six of the best with record throw

Valerie Vili has the physique and attitude to conquer all, says her coach. Picture / Tracey Grant

Kirsten Hellier does not quite have stars in her eyes yet but remains quietly confident that star shot put pupil Valerie Vili is on target for a couple of milestones.

In the short term, Hellier will not be surprised if Vili (nee Adams) breaks the 20m barrier, perhaps even winning this year's world championship in doing so.

Further down the track, Hellier sees the longstanding world record (22.63m) in Vili's sights.

Since she broke Val Young's New Zealand record of 17.26m - thrown at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics - Vili, 20, has broken her own mark 10 times, adding a further 2.26m.

Speaking after Vili added 20cm to her New Zealand record with a 19.52m winning effort in Rio de Janeiro yesterday, Hellier said she was "surprised but not really surprised".

"I'm kinda surprised it happened at the moment," she said. "It is always difficult to do something like that without some big competitions along the way.

"Val had a break after the nationals and has only done a six-week build-up since then. It has been a very short, very sharp preparation.

"So, while in some ways I'm surprised, in others I'm not.

"We always set targets for certain meets," Hellier said. "We always do something at this time of the year. Normally it is in Japan, but there was no shot there this time, so she went to South America instead."

Vili was almost a metre clear of second-placed Natalia Khoroneko's (Belarus) 18.60m, with Cuban Olympic champion Yumileidi Cumba Jay 2cm back in third place.

Vili now has the six best throws in the world this year and eight of the top 11. German Christina Schwantiz, who managed 18.84m on May 1, has the seventh-best throw.

The target is now the World Championships at Helsinki in August.

"We have three months to prepare," Hellier said. "She will compete at meets in Croatia and London.

"I would expect her to throw further before she gets to the Worlds. I don't want to jinx her, but I would not be surprised if she reached 20m."

Beyond that? The world record set 18 years ago by Soviet Natalya Lisovskaya?

"Realistically, she is the only athlete in the world who can do it naturally," Hellier said. "She is the perfect person to break the record. She has the strength, a beautiful physique, an amazing competitive temperament and the mental ability to perform well.

"We joke about the Russians who claim to bench-press 180kg - to push a 4kg shot. They don't bother Val. She has twice the arm length."

Since Hellier first worked with Vili as a 14-year-old, the coach has been cautious.

"I don't want to kill her. We have certainly taken it one step at a time. Like her, I'm still learning."

Hellier said Vili's consistency would make her rivals [at Helsinki] wary. "The Cuban has come off an indoor and international season. There were no excuses for her not doing better."

For consistency, read preparation and the being injury-free.

In their time together, Vili has not missed a meet through injury. "We have been a lot more conservative in the last two or three years," Hellier said. "It is now paying off."