Olympics: Adams' omission blamed on admin error

Valerie Adams in action. Photo / AP

Valerie Adams' omission from the shot-put start list at the Olympic Games is being blamed on "an administrative error".

The New Zealand Olympic Committee is yet to investigate the matter thoroughly because of the mad scramble to get Adams into the event.

The NZOC had to plead for leniency from the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations, who finally relented, allowing Adams to compete. The NZOC said "an administrative error saw her name missed from the initial line-up".

It is a glaring oversight to leave out arguably New Zealand's highest-profile athlete and one of its top gold-medal hopes. The Herald understands ultimate responsibility lies with chef de mission Dave Currie.

When asked about that, Currie said their focus was on getting Adams into today's final so she could defend her Olympic title.

"Clearly she was not on the start list. Our immediate aim was to get her on the start list and get through today.

"[In my role] ultimately you have to take the good with the bad on everything. I don't know where in the system it didn't happen, but we now need to get stuck in and support her."

Currie would not elaborate on how the start-list registration worked.

The NZOC discovered the slip mid-afternoon Sunday (London time).

Adams has not spoken to the media but the NZOC said she was "focused on competition" and "ready to go".

Spokeswoman Ashley Abbott said: "We need to look at this issue properly [but] ... at the moment our main focus has been getting Val into the event."