Former South Africa Women allrounder Sunnette Viljoen, who has played one Test and 17 ODIs, created history on Thursday by bagging a silver medal in the women’s javelin final of the Rio Olympics.
Viljoen, 33, finished second behind Croatia’s Sara Kolak, with her best throw of 64.92 metres compared to Kolak’s 66.18 metres. Viljoen’s medal was the ninth for South Africa who are currently placed 34th overall with one gold, six silvers and two bronze medals.
She had come agonisingly close to winning a medal at the London 2012 Olympics but finished fourth with a best throw of 64.53 metres, behind Germany’s Linda Stahl, who finished third with 64.91.
Viljoen played her only Test against India in March 2002 in Paarl, scoring 17 and 71. She had made her ODI debut in 2000 and finished her ODI career two years later with 198 runs and five wickets.
