Athletics: Another dominant win for Adams

Valerie Adams
Valerie Adams
Valerie Adams rounded off a perfect Commonwealth Games preparation with a dominant victory at the Diamond League meet in Monte Carlo on Friday night.

Adams claimed her 53rd straight win with a best effort of 20.38m.

Any of the powerhouse New Zealander's four legal throws would have been good enough for first place, with German Christina Schwanitz a distant second with 19.54m.

Adams, 29, is the unbackable favourite to add a third straight Commonwealth title in Glasgow to a bulging trophy cabinet that also includes two Olympic golds and a record four straight world championship crowns.

"The big focus for me this year is the Commonwealth Games and obviously I now switch all my attentions there," Adams told AAP.

"My goal there is to get another championship medal and obviously win another gold for New Zealand."

Adams was surprised that Schwanitz did not push her harder at the Stade Louis II.

The shot put shapes as a rich potential source of medals for New Zealand in Glasgow.

Adams - who leads the 2104 world rankings with 20.46m - is at the shortest of odds to claim the women's crown.

Cleopatra Borel from Trinidad and Tobago - who was fourth on Friday night - is the next best performed Commonwealth athlete this year with a best of 19.10m.

Youngsters Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill are also genuine medal hopes in the men's shot put, although Adams is too modest to claim much credit for their recent success.

"Everybody takes up shot for their own reasons," she said.

"But I would like to think I was able to bring track and field up in New Zealand.

I think the Commonwealth Games will be very interesting for New Zealand and it should be pretty successful as well."

Nick Willis capped a great night for New Zealand by smashing his own national record in the 1500m.

The Beijing Olympics silver medallist was seventh in three minutes 29.91 seconds, beating the mark of 3:30.35 he set at the same meet two years ago.

Kenyan Silas Kiplagat upstaged countryman Asbel Kiprop to claim victory in 3:27.64.

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