TRACK & FIELD
Been There , Done Most
Sunette ’ s athletics record is awe-inspiring . Her African and SA Record best throw of 69.35m places her sixth on the World Athletics all-time list , and she won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games as well as a silver at the 2011 World Championships . In 2015 she won a World Champs bronze medal , and she has won four Commonwealth Games medals ( 2 gold , 1 silver and 1 bronze ), as well five African Champs golds . However , she will turn 38 next year , an age at which most top level athletes are no longer competing .
Sunette Viljoen is still chasing that 70-metre ‘ big one ’
“ Every so often , someone asks why don ’ t I retire as a professional athlete , as I have basically achieved everything I set out to do , but to me , age is irrelevant . Ever since I threw the javelin for the first time , my goal was to become an Olympic champion , and I still believe it to be possible . I know that I have not yet thrown that ‘ big one ’... and I wake up every day with a drive to try and break 70 metres . That is what keeps me going . I will know when that ‘ flame ’ to be the best has burnt out .”
According to Sunette , the one good thing that came about from the COVID-19 pandemic is that she has had time to entirely recover from a niggling back injury . She therefore thinks the next two years could be the most exciting of her career , and says she hopes to medal at the Tokyo Olympics by breaking 70 metres , and then to win further medals at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games .
For now , the plan is to retire her javelin for good at the end of 2022 , but it won ’ t mean her days as a competitor will be over . “ Once I have retired as an athlete , my aim will be to try and play for the South African women ’ s cricket team again ,” says Sunette . She became the ( then ) youngest debutant for the national team in 2000 , aged just 17 , and went on to play 17 one-day internationals and one test match , including eight matches at the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand . “ I recently faced a few balls in the cricket nets again , and it made me realise how much I miss playing cricket ,” she says .
These articles were supplied by The Department of Sport ( TuksSport ) at the University of Pretoria . Tuks is home to some of the best sporting opportunities in the world , with more than 30 sport clubs . To find out more , go to www . up . ac . za / tukssport .
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