van Dyk shines as SA Athletes win 13 medals (7 Gold) at All African Games

With less than 125 days to go until the Olympic Games kick off in Paris, South Africa’s top runners are showing all the right signs that they will be ready to put their best foot forward in the French capital. Last week a team of 41 athletes took part in the 13th African Games in Accra, returning with a haul of 11 medals - 7 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze.

With the exception of Rogail Joseph who claimed gold in the women’s 400m hurdles, all of the other ten medals were won by the nation’s field event athletes. Most impressive was javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk who produced yet another throw of more than 60 metres to win the women’s javelin in a new African Games record of 60.80. That throw came just five weeks after the North West University student recorded a new personal best of 62.24 in Potchefstroom on Valentine’s Day.

van Dyk poses with her gold medal at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium. Photo Credit: Team SA.

The Adidas ambassador told #TheTopRunner that lessons learnt from 2021, 2022 and 2023 have made it easier for her and her coach to plan and make sure that she can deliver her best performances during the major competitions. 

"2022 was very, very busy and I was trying to do all the competitions I can because I was in good form and I was riding the wave. But when I got the bigger competitions things went a bit downward because I think. I was tired. But last year we managed it quite well. At World Championships I got to final and my coach and I managed to peak at the right time."

South Africa's sprinters in buoyant mood in Ghana, including Rogail Joseph (centre), who won gold in the 400mH. Photo Credit: Team SA.

The performance in the Ghanian capital bodes well for the 26-year-old who after making her Olympic debut at #Tokyo2021 and taking sixth position at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will have to believe that she is capable of ending up on the podium at #Paris2024.

"I get good support from my fiancé and my parents. My dream is like every other athlete - to win an Olympic Gold medal. I read a book about having a dream and having it in mind so that whole vision and your whole lifestyle should be geared towards that dream. I’m still young. I’ve always known that 26 or 27 is where we only start peaking."

TEAM SA ATHLETICS TEAM MEDALISTS:

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Jo-Ane van Dyk - Javelin	Jana van Schalwyk - Javelin	Alan Cumming - Hammer Throw
Ashley Erasmus - Shot Put		Rischkee Senegal - Shot Put
Victor Hogan - Discus		Mpho Links - High Jump
Asande Mthembu - Long Jump
Rogail Joseph - 400mH
Miré Reinstorf - Pole Vault
Frederich Pretorius - Decathlon