Vili, who would qualify for Team GB through her Bristol-born father, exclusively told insidethegames that she has already turned down “offers” to swap the Silver Fern for the Union Flag, but funding issues could force her to consider changing her mind.

 

Vili said: “More could be done for elite athletes in New Zealand.

 

"We won three Olympic Golds in 2008, but the funding still isn’t that flash.

 

"If I lived elsewhere and competed for another country things might be different, but I love the country and love competing for New Zealand.

 

“However, I have to look to the future and live my own life.

 

"My father’s English, so I have a connection with another country and have options.

 

"I have had offers, but have turned them down.

 

"I’m happy with how things are at the moment.”

 

The 24-year-old is due to compete at the World Championships in Berlin in August - in a black New Zealand vest - as defending champion and would certainly be a valuable addition to a British team that lacks star quality in the field events.

 

However, any switch would have serious implications on a settled training regime that has reaped dividends for her over the last 10 years.

 

In addition to her world and Olympic titles, the 6ft 5in Kiwi has won gold medals at the World Junior and Youth Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Cup – success she attributes to preparations geared around the necessity to compete in two summer seasons each year, and the influence of coach Kristen Hellier – her mentor since 1998.

 

She said: “I do most of my training in New Zealand and I’ve been doing that for 10 years, with no winter block of training like the Europeans have.

 

"I compete pretty much all year round and all my build-ups to major Championships have been fine, so I’m happy."

 

Vili also dismissed concerns, raised by fellow Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu, that new anti-doping measures that force athletes to tell the authorities an exact breakdown of their movements are a restriction of liberty.
 

Vili said: “We have to let the authorities know our training times and venues – It’s part of the job, it’s not going to change and if it makes the sport cleaner then it’s something we have to do.

 

"I know I’m clean and doing things naturally and I’m 99.9 per cent sure that my competitors are also clean, but you never know for sure and if it roots any who are doing something wrong then it’s all good and I will support it.”

 

The tall and elegant Vili is a standard bearer not only for the Tongan heritage she owes to her mother, but also for those who want to change the perception of female power athletes.

 

She said: “Things have moved on in the women’s shot.

 

"People think you have to be `big and butch` but today there’s more femininity involved.

 

"You can’t control other people’s opinions but I like to think things have changed for the better.

 

"But we’re not high jumpers or pole vaulters, we’re not as glamorous as them!

 

"The events aren’t quite the same.”