Commonwealth Games: Valerie Adams a stone's throw away from gold

Dame Valerie Adams threw a season's best 18.52m to qualify for the Commonwealth Games women's shot put final tomorrow night.

The 33-year-old's effort was 1.02m better than the next best from Canadian Brittany Crew.

That result suggests Adams could secure a New Zealand record fourth straight Commonwealth Games gold medal at separate editions.

She sits alongside fellow thrower Val Young (1958, 1962 and 1966), shooter Stephen Petterson (1990, 1994 and 1998), rugby sevens player Amasio Valence (1998, 2002 and 2006) and lawn bowler Jo Edwards (2002, 2014, 2018) with three.

Adams first represented New Zealand at a Commonwealth Games as a 17-year-old in Manchester 2002, where she secured silver. Victories followed in Melbourne, Delhi and Glasgow.

Elsewhere, Angie Petty missed the final of the 800m. She finished fifth in her heat, clocking 2m 00.62s. South African Caster Semenya won in 1m 59.26s.

The top two qualifiers from the three heats, and the next two fastest runners went through.

Petty was 0.09s adrift.

"I think I did all the right things in the first 500m. I just couldn't respond when they went with 250m to go, which I was annoyed over.

"I didn't feel great in the back straight and as I came around the bend I said to myself no I've still got more, just be patient.

"I didn't want to go too wide and I should have gone a bit earlier, but my legs were really tying up in that last 50m."

Eliza McCartney competes alongside training partner Olivia McTaggart tomorrow night in the final of the pole vault.

McCartney shapes as a gold medal contender, but faces stern competition.

The 21-year-old cleared 4.75m on March 3 with fourth at the world indoor championships in Birmingham, and cleared the same height on March 25 in Auckland. A week prior she slingshoted over an unratified 4.90m on a sloping runway at the Vertical Pursuit along Federal St.

However, Australian Nina Kennedy leapt 4.71m on February 9, England's Holly Bradshaw cleared 4.70m on March 31 and Canada's Alysha Newman overcame 4.70m indoors on March 3.

McCartney's fully fit and another advance on her personal best of 4.82m could be in prospect.