Jo-Ane van Dyk delivered the performance of a lifetime to secure silver in the women’s javelin in the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi claimed gold with a distance of 65.80 metres with her first throw of the final, with Van Dyk taking second with a best effort of 63.93m in the third round.
Czech Republic’s Nikola Ogrodnikova bagged bronze with 63.68m.
It was an impressive performance from Van Dyk who adds Olympic silver medallist to her list of achievements including her two African Championships titles.
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 At the halfway mark of the event, Jo-Ann van Dyk is currently in the silver medal position of the Women's Javelin.
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 10, 2024
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SA medal tally up to six
The 26-year-old Van Dyk brought Team SA’s medal tally to six, with their one gold, three silver and two bronze.
In the men’s 4x400m relay, Team SA finished fifth in a new South African record time of 2:58.12. Gardeo Isaacs, Zakithi Nene, Lythe Pillay and Antonie Nortje combined to turn in a credible performance in a high quality final in which the USA set a new Olympic record to take gold.
In the men’s long jump final, Briaan Raats cleared 2.17m before he was eliminated to finish 12th.
Jean Spies in the men’s Keirin (cycling) was eliminated after finishing fifth in his heat
In the morning session, Elroy Gelant finished 11th in the men’s marathon as he crossed the line in 2:09:10. Stephen Mokoka finished 27th in 2:10:59.
In the women’s golf, Ashleigh Buhai ended 13th on a score of three-under, while Paula Reto was 44th on 11-over for the event.
In the men’s kayak single 1000m, Hamish Lovemore finished in eighth place in his semi-final.
Nicolas de Lange in the men’s wrestling was beaten in his quarterfinal to bow out of the competition.