Johannesbrug - Fortified by off the field battles, Sunette Viljoen is resolved to return from the Rio Olympic Games with the one medal still outstanding in her long list of accolades.
Vijoen’s career reads like a novel with many sub-plots and antagonists that test the protagonist but she always seems to come out on top.
The Rio Olympic Games could be the final chapter in Viljoen’s athletics book, one that she hopes would end with her stepping onto the podium.“It would be the perfect ending for years in which I invested everything,” Viljoen said.
“I work so hard every day, and if I reap the fruits I would know it had been worth the effort after fighting the biggest battle I had to fight off the field over the last four years.
“I am going into these Olympics without any support from my family and knowing I have to be doing everything myself, motivates me even more.”
Ostracised by friends and family for publicly admitting she is lesbian, Viljoen was also embroiled in a spat with the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) after penning an open letter over their lack of support and recognition.
While Vijoen has become an increasingly defiant character, her sunny disposition always seems to return.Viljoen’s story is one of impressive longevity making her senior debut on the world stage as a wide-eyed 19-year-old at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris.She will be appearing at her fourth Olympics after making her debut in Athens 2004 where she missed out on a spot in the final with a best heave of 54.45m.
Her second Olympics four years later was characterised by a selection debacle ahead of the Beijing Games where she was initially omitted from the team.Her qualifying throw of 62.24m was at a meeting Athletics SA (ASA) did not recognise but after some diplomatic wrangling she was included.
Viljoen was primed for success in 2012 going into the London Games as the top-ranked female javelin thrower thanks to her South African and Africa record throw of 69.35m in the build-up.After an opening heave of 64.43m her grip on a possible Olympic bronze slipped in the fourth round when Germany’s Linda Stahl unseated her with a throw of 64.91m.
Viljoen believes she has matured mentally over the last four years, and is better equipped for the pressures at the Games.
“I’ve grown a lot emotionally over the last four years, and I was already mentally well-prepared in Beijing last year,” Viljoen said.“I can’t even really compare 2016 to 2012. I know what to do and how to do it.
"My approach is completely different than in 2012, my head and my body are in complete harmony.”
Buoyed by her second world bronze medal in Beijing last year with a distance of 65.79m adding to her third-place from Daegu in 2011, Viljoen could once again be considered among the medal hopefuls at the Games.
Her season’s best throw of 65.14m is ranked the fifth best in the world with Czech defending Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova leading the pack with her 66.87m.
Viljoen claimed her fifth continental title with a best throw of 64.08m at the African Athletics Championships in Durban last month.With only one throw over 65 metres this season, Viljoen will be hoping to land the big ones in Rio to set her up for a medal.
In a professional career that spans more than a decade she has remained relevant as the continents greatest female javelin thrower."It is something I can’t put my finger on. I have been born with incredible passion and drive – it is something that can only come from God," Viljoen offered as explanation for her longevity.
"I don’t know how to give up, only perseverance."
The Star