South Africa: Jo-Ane van Dyk bags Silver Medal in the Women’s Javelin at Paris Olympics 2024, adding another achievement to the Team South Africa tally.
Reportedly, Javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk added sixth medal to South Africa’s Olympic haul, after securing silver medal in women’s javelin throw, on Saturday night.
Van Dyk is a four-time African Championships medallist. She showcased her skill and determination by delivering a throw of 63.93m in the final. Her impressive performance was just 29cm short of her personal best, which is 64.22m, set during the qualifying round.
As per the sources, Van Dyk’s remarkable achievement bagged her second spot, behind Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi, who won gold with a throw of 65.80m.
The silver medal marks a significant milestone in her career, solidifying her position and gaining her place among one of the world’s top javelin throwers.
Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi captured the women’s javelin gold medal, which was the season-best throw of 65.80 meters at the Paris Olympics 2024. At Tokyo Olympics, which was her second Olympics, Kitaguchi became the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics in an event other than the marathon, after finishing at 12th place.
Considering the previous achievements, Brian Raats who competed in men’s high jump, cleared 2.17m but was unable to progress further, and finished as a12th.
In the men’s marathon, Elroy Gelant and Stephen Mokoka represented South Africa with strong performances, and finished at 11th and 27th position, respectively.
Hamish Lovemore showed a commendable performance in the kayak singles (canoeing), winning the B final with a time of 3:27.94 after placing eighth in the semi-final.
In women’s golf, Ashleigh Buhai tied for 13th place with a score of three-under par, while Paula Reto tied for 44th place.
Steyn de Lange, competing in the men’s 97kg wrestling division, was defeated in the 1/8 finals by Georgia’s Givi Matcharashvili.
Meanwhile, in track cycling, Jean Spies competed in the men’s keirin, but his Olympic journey ended before the quarterfinals.