Valerie Adams was chosen as the woman’s international athlete of the year at a ceremony in Monaco yesterday. She is a shot putter. This is the first time a Kiwi has won this award. She said it is unusual for a thrower to win. It is usually runners, especially sprinters who run the 100m races.
Valerie was on the short list for the last 3 years but this time she won. She has 2 Olympics gold medals and 4 world championship medals. This year, she won the gold medal at the world indoor championship also. No one has beaten her for the last 4 years.
At the moment, she is recovering from surgery on her shoulder and elbow but has started training again. She is training for the World Championships in Beijing next year and the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
When she accepted the award, she thanked her many supporters back home in New Zealand. click here to see a photo of Valerie.
Vocabulary
short list – 3 people were chosen for the short list, then one of those is the winner
Grammar – passive
- chosen – pp of verb choose; here it is used in the passive
- beaten – pp of verb beat; here it is used in the passive