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The 27-year-old is the newly crowned queen of South African javelin throw and performed beyond expectations at the quadrennial games
Paris Olympics javelin silver medalist Jo-Ané van Dyk has revealed why she was emotional after helping South Africa clinch silver in the French capital.
The 27-year-old is the newly crowned queen of South African javelin throw and performed beyond expectations at the quadrennial games.
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The 2016 World U20 Championships silver medalist said although she was well prepared after tweaking her tactics prior to the games, making it to the podium was never in her mind. "I think there was a bit of disbelief. You kind of feel detached, as if you are high, it feels unreal,” Van Dyk described her medal-winning moment according to Olympics.com.
On the final night of track and field action, he two-time African champion breathed life into her plan as she produced her best throw on her third attempt which moved her into silver-medal position. She opened with a 59.72m before adding two more metres but it was still not good enough to put her in medal contention.
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When she landed what would become a career-defying throw, Van Dyk, he African games gold winner, did not think she would end up on the podium expecting some of the name stars to deliver the goods over the remaining three rounds. Van Dyk’s pessimism proved to be unfounded as she became only the second South African behind Sunette Viljoen to win an Olympic javelin throw medal, fishing second behind Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi.
“It is like an out-of-body experience. I can’t believe it! I don’t know how to describe it. It as if you see everything in the third person. I can’t believe this. It’s crazy!”
To add another major milestone to her year, Van Dyk got married and moved from Potchefstroom in South Africa’s interior to Cape Town. Van Dyk said she would continue to train under the tutelage of coach Terseus Liebenberg, but they still needed to figure out the practicalities of a long-distance training arrangement as she targets higher honours over the next four years.
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