Valerie Adams, pictured in 2012, was New Zealand's star athlete and the world's best woman shot putter in the early 21st century. By 2016 she had won four world championship titles, five Diamond League series, three Olympic medals (two gold and one silver), and four Commonwealth medals (three gold and one silver). Her 2012 gold at the London Olympics came in less-than-ideal circumstances – initially she placed second behind Belarussian Nadzeya Ostapchuk, who was later stripped of her medal for doping. In 2017 she was appointed a Dame of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to athletics.