Valerie Vili is pleased with her progress but has yet to move into top gear. Photo / Kenny Rodger
World shot put champion Valerie Vili has suffered yet another family bereavement after the death of her grandfather last week - but still threw a world-class 19.66m at the Porritt Classic track and field meeting in Hamilton last night.
"That was pretty good considering the week I've had,
my grandfather passed away and with family gatherings, I did get some training in," said Vili. She threw 19.72m recently in Canberra and this throw far surpassed her old meeting record of 18.97m, set in 2005.
"I had consistency through the whole competition and I'm not disappointed. The energy levels are not 100 per cent, imagine what I'd do with 100 per cent," she said.
Vili's father died in May after a battle with cancer and she dedicated her world championship win to him in Japan last August.
Her form is now starting to build up to the sort of level that preceded that throw in Japan and attention is starting to be drawn to Vili's Olympic build-up which will be mostly undertaken in Australasia.
Her only European competition prior to the Olympics will be the world indoor championships in Valencia Spain next month.
Her programme leading up to Beijing will include a meeting in Sydney this Saturday, the Waitakere meeting on 19 February, and the Australian championships. In May, Vili will travel up to Beijing for a dummy run at the Olympic stadium.
Vili's only competition in the two months before the Games will be in Australia.
After Beijing, Vili will hit the European circuit and hopefully the world athletic championships finals in Salutatory in September.
"I'm really pleased where I'm at, and I've yet to move into real competition mode," said Vili.
