Dana Johannsen: Awesome Adams feats untouchable

Kiwi Val Adams with the IAAF 2014 Female Athlete of the Year Award after the ceremony in Monaco at the weekend. Photo / AP

If golfer Ko is seeking a role model, she need look no further than all-conquering world shot put queen.

The superlatives are flowing for Lydia Ko after the teenage golfing prodigy capped off her remarkable rookie season in the LPGA with two big wins -- the season-ending Tour Championship and the Race to the CME Globe. Ko is the marvel of New Zealand sport and rightly so.

But permit me to revisit the impressive achievement over the weekend of New Zealand shot put queen Valerie Adams, who scooped the female athlete of the year award at the World Athletics Gala in Monaco.

If Ko was looking for a role model in consistent excellence and ironclad resilience, she should look no further than the all-conquering Adams, who has proved untouchable over the past four years. Quite how it has taken this long for the world athletics body to honour Adams with the top award is anyone's guess.

The award comes after what Adams has described as her most difficult season yet as she returned from knee surgery a year ago, and battled shoulder and elbow injuries as the wear and tear from 15 years in the sport took a toll on her frame.

Even though she was not physically at her best this season, she was still easily the best as she took her unbeaten streak to 56 competitions -- often only through sheer grit.

Adams may have biffed the put further in previous seasons, but assessed on its own merits the shot put superstar had an outstanding year as for the fourth year in succession, the world and Olympic champion ended the season undefeated, having won all 14 events she started.

The Olympic champion added a ninth senior global title to her collection when she successfully defended her world indoor crown in Sopot, Poland with 20.67m, the outright best throw in the world in 2014 and the second-best performance in the history of the championships.

It was also the best mark Adams has ever achieved indoors during the winter season.

She was the only athlete in the world to win at all seven IAAF Diamond League fixtures in any discipline.

In July, she won her third successive Commonwealth title with 19.88m -- even the worst throw in her series that day would have been enough to win by more than a metre.

It was all-in-all just a typical year for Adams, which is why we tend to take her success for granted.

We should be careful to remember few athletes have dominated their sports like Adams has year-in, year-out.

Three other things on sport

1. Richie's milestone
Richie McCaw marked his milestone 100th rugby test as captain at the worst possible time - the month of November, or rather Movember. Sporting a Chopper-like handlebar moustache is an admirable gesture to support a worthy cause, but when McCaw finally hangs up his boots and opens the scrapbook to look back at some of the great milestones of his career, what is he going to make of that moustache?

2. All Blacks' run
While I am hailing the unbeaten Val Adams and lauding Lydia Ko's efforts, I should also mention the All Blacks' outstanding run this season. That was quite good, too. It must be so frustrating playing second fiddle to the females all the time.

3. Halberg Awards
There is one downside to all the sporting success New Zealand has enjoyed this year - the debate online and talkback around Halberg Awards time is going to get feral. Time to switch off sports radio and online chat.