Jo-Ane van Dyk ‘glad’ she didn’t know she nearly impaled Olympic official

Silver medallist Jo-Ane van Dyk narrowly missed impaling an official with her second throw in the javelin competition at the Paris Olympics on Saturday night, but said afterwards she was glad she didn’t know at the time or else it might have derailed her competition.

On her following attempt she launched the missile to 63.93m, which secured the silver medal.

In 2021 Van Dyk speared a spectator at a competition in Germany after pulling her attempt to the left, puncturing his lung. He made a full recovery and she became friends with his wife and the couple named their daughter, now two, after her.

That second throw at Stade de France had also flown to the far left of the javelin sector.

“I heard [about] that afterwards,” said Van Dyk. “Luckily I didn't see that. I know I hooked it a little bit.”

When told she missed the official by 1m, she replied: “Oh, that’s far. I’ve actually hit someone in the past, there’s a whole story about that, with a baby named after me in the end ...

“But I’m very glad I didn’t see it, I think that might have rattled me.”

Van Dyk, who was lying seventh on 61.72m after the second round, said she had felt nerves going into the third round, looking to ensure she survived the midway cut where the 12-strong field is reduced to eight.

“The second try, I was like, ‘OK, 61 is not going to carry me through.’ So that third one was quite nerve-racking, but I’m happy it carried through.”

Van Dyk, runner-up at the 2016 under-20 world championships, admitted she had expected her silver throw to be overhauled in the final three rounds on Saturday.

“I am a little surprised [it wasn’t]. I was thinking there’s going to be some girls coming through, throwing further definitely because most of them already threw much further in qualifying even.

“But it’s different out there on the field, so I’m very happy it stayed there.”

The 65.80 golden throw by Japan’s Haruka Kitguchi was the shortest winning distance at the Olympics since the 1972 Games in Munich.

Going into the competition Van Dyk didn’t think that a throw of 63.93 would make the podium.

“Because of this fast track and everything, I thought the distance is going to be much [further],” said the Potchefstroom-based qualified dietitian, whose 64.22m lifetime best in the qualifying round a few days earlier seeded her fourth going into the final.

“But I mean, like I always say on the day, literally anything can happen, it’s literally anyone’s game.

“I feel this Olympics has been an Olympics for the underdogs, so I’m very happy for that.”

I feel this Olympics has been an Olympics for the underdogs, so I’m very happy for that.

—  Jo-Ane van Dyk

Van Dyk joined a handful of South African dark horses to have reached the Olympic podium, like triathlete Henri Schoeman at Rio 2016, the lightweight men’s four rowers at London 2012 and marathoner Josia Thugwane at Atlanta 1996.

Van Dyk, who is getting married on October 5, plans to keep on competing and would like to one day have a crack at the 69.35m African record held by her former stablemate, Sunette Viljoen.

“Maybe,” she replied, when asked if she had any ambition of breaking records.

“I think maybe in the next four years, because now I know what I'm capable of. So we have a very steep one, 69 something ... but nothing is impossible.”