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Dame Val 'humbled' to carry NZ flag in closing ceremony

August 8, 2021

The 36-year-old has been given the prestigious honour in her fifth and likely final Olympic Games.

Despite five Olympic campaigns to date, Dame Valerie Adams is set to embrace a new experience tonight in Tokyo when she takes on the responsibility of flag bearer for Aotearoa in this year's Olympic closing ceremony.

Dame Valerie will wrap up her Tokyo Olympics chapter later this evening at Tokyo Olympic Stadium after it was announced today she had been given the honour for the first time.

The shot putter told 1 NEWS she was taken back by the news.

"It'll be so exciting and very, very humbling," Dame Valerie told 1 NEWS.

"I have not carried the flag at an Olympic Games so I'm really proud to be a Kiwi and hold that flag up high into the sky and make New Zealand proud."

Dame Valerie won a bronze medal to add to her collection in Tokyo after an impressive performance in the women's shot put final and said after a week of reflection, her latest acquisition still tops her previous efforts.

Dame Valerie Adams reacts after winning bronze in the women's shot put final.

"The journey to get this medal was a long one and now I've got two little children to take in tow with this medal," she said.

"When I was able to achieve that, it was such a special moment and so overwhelming and it felt so much more than winning the gold medal with your perspective and expectations different this time as a mum.

"But the fire was still burning."

Whether that fire would burn for another three years to get to the Paris Olympics was up in the air though.

"That's way too soon," she said with a grin after 1 NEWS persenter Melissa Stokes asked.

"Next question, Melissa!"

Watch Dame Valerie's full live interview from 1 NEWS at Six above.

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