Valerie Adams Barbie Doll

Barbie dolls in their line Barbie Role Models, a line dedicated to building female models in an effort to close the so-called “dream gap”, a moment in the lives of girls when, due to social pressure, they begin to doubt that they are capable to be what they set out to be.

A few days before the commemoration of International Women's Day, the American toy company Barbie launched a series of sports-inspired dolls that celebrate female role models.

The launch of the company is part of the Sheroes initiative, which pays tribute to outstanding women in different fields and the Dream Gap Project. Barbie's Dream Gap, explained by the company as a gap that exists between girls and their potential in fields that have traditionally been occupied by men, and the company seeks to share stories of women from different occupations to encourage I encourage the girls of the world to be whatever they want to be.

Tokyo 2020 and Barbie honored great athletes: the Turkish swimmer Sümeyye Boyacı, the French soccer player Amandine Henry, the Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, the British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, the Portuguese surfer Teresa Bonvalot and the German jumper Malaika Mohambo. Barbie made a figure dedicated to each of them because of her power to inspire girls, women and people in general to reach their maximum potential in the sporting field.

In the limelight since 2006, without stopping winning titles since then including Olympic gold, she was named World Athlete of the Year in 2014, becoming the first athlete from New Zealand. She holds the New Zealand, Oceanian, Commonwealth and World Championship records with a personal best throw of 21.24 metres. She is considered a leader and role model in the Pacific community.

Valeri couldn't have a better gift for her two-year-old daughter Kimoana, her first Barbie will be hers as her mother. The New Zealand athlete didn't play with dolls when she was a child, but if she had, they wouldn't have looked like her.

"She shouldn't be super skinny, because that's not the shape of my body," she declared in an interview with Stuff, "and she should have her tattoos, they mean a lot to me." She also insisted that her freckles be prominent, and that her costume be a replica of her competition gear.

"When I first saw Barbie, how well she was made, and how much she looked like me, it was pretty surprising," Adams said. "When I was little, all the Barbies had blonde hair and blue eyes. Now, if you're a Maori boy, or a Pacific Island girl, or if you're in a wheelchair, you can go to a store and find a Barbie doll that looks like you."

Adams confessed that she was bullied when she was a child because of her height, and she hopes that her participation in the campaign will help show New Zealand girls that they can be and do whatever they want.