Dame Valerie Adams has opened up about overcoming a health battle to win a shot put bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
In an exclusive interview with Seven Sharp's Hilary Barry, Adams revealed she underwent emergency surgery for a twisted bowel just days after the premature birth of her son in 2019.
Adams said the surgery had taken a huge toll on her body but she managed to find "hope" as she recovered.
"What my body had been through, not only via the C-section but also the emergency operation, then waking up to all of these tubes... I didn't see a way out of it but I did see a little glimmer of hope."
She said she held on her drive to make it to Tokyo, "but it didn't come easy".
"Trying to come back from that to participate in a sport that requires you to be physically fit, strong, healthy, dynamic, fast was a bit of a far-fetched goal, but one that I was determined to embark on," she said.
"I just don't take no for an answer."
Watch Hilary Barry's full interview with Dame Valerie Adams above.
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