Athletics: Wonder girl sends records tumbling

By MURRAY McKINNON

The new wonder girl of New Zealand athletics, Valerie Adams, set five New Zealand records within 20 minutes at the Porritt Classic athletic meeting in Hamilton last night.

The 17-year-old improved on her own New Zealand under 20 and under 18 hammer throw record by 20cm, tossing the ball and chain out to 56.74m.

Then Adams dashed to the other end of the ground to compete in the shot put.

With her opening performance, she added 8cm to the New Zealand record she set last Saturday - when she eclipsed the 17.26m 1964 Tokyo Olympic mark of Val Young - heaving the shot 17.46m.

This one put gave her the senior, under 20 and under 18 records and cemented her claims for the gold medal in the world junior championships to be held in Jamaica in July.

She still has a long way to go to approach the world record of 22.63m, set by Russian Natalya Lisovskaya in 1987 during the years when many world marks were discredited by allegations of drug taking among East European athletes.

Adams rounded out her competition with a third place in the discus throw with 53.28m, just missing her New Zealand under 18 record of 54.34m set last Saturday.

Adams' coach Kirsten Hellier said that the 18m throw in the shot was not far away.

"It could well come before the world juniors or the Commonwealth Games and definitely before her 18th birthday, which is in October," she said.

Beatrice Faumuina threw a world class discus of 63.92m to beat Australian visitor Alison Lever by 5m.

Stewart Farquhar of Hamilton improved by 6m on his previous best in the javelin throw to become the fourth best thrower in New Zealand with 78m. The 19-year-old was delighted as he is only 1m short of qualifying for the Manchester Games.