South African athlete Jo-Ane van Dyk has earned Team South Africa’s sixth medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics Games.

Van Dyk won a silver medal during the women’s javelin on Saturday at the Stade de France, Paris, on Saturday night.

‘At a packed Stade de France on the final night of track and field action at these Games, she produced a third effort of 63.93m, which highlighted the form she’d shown all week, and moved her up into the silver medal, behind Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi, who had opened with a winning 65.80m.

‘It was an emotional evening all round, because Van Dyk is coached by Terseus Liebenberg, who also guided Viljoen to the silver medal at Rio 2016,’ the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) said.

Van Dyk had attended her first Olympics in Tokyo, and there she was eliminated in qualifying with a best of 57.69m.

‘Here, she is three years older, three years wiser and a different athlete entering the prime of her career. The South African’s first throw of 59.72m had been
below par by her standards. She upped it by exactly two metres to 61.72m, which still wasn’t enough to get into medal contention on a stacked leaderboard.

‘However, her third throw was another two metres further and that 63.93m was to be 25cm better than bronze medallist Nikola Ogrodnikova, and 53cm better than the fourth-placed finisher, Sara Kolak,’ SASCOC said.

Meanwhile, high jumper Brian Raats couldn’t better his first jump, where he cleared 2.17m, and ended up in 12th place, with the gold going to New Zealand’s Hamiush Kerr with 2.36m.

‘Team SA’s men’s 4x400m took to the track having been reinstated into the final after the referee intervened on Friday following interference and a tumble in their heat. Gardeo Isaacs, in lane one, took the opening, which he covered in 45.67sec, leaving Zakhiti Nene at the back of a nine-country field.

‘However, Nene again scorched around the track and has been Team SA’s best 400m athlete at these Games. He made up four places with a lap of 43.81. Lythe Pillay kept t
he momentum with a 43.97 run and at the changeover, South Africa were still fifth. And that’s where they stayed as Antonie Nortje finished off with a 44.67.

“With the United States winning gold in an Olympic record 2:54.43, South Africa’s quartet set a national record 2:58.12,’ SASCOC said.

Source : South African Government News Agency