Jo-Ane Van Dyk fulfils her dream of winning a medal in her Olympic Games debut

However, on the final day of the track and field competition at Stade de France, Van Dyk exceeded expectations by throwing a personal best of 63.93 metres, earning a silver medal at her debut Olympic Games.

Huraka Kitaguchi of Japan secured the gold with a throw of 65.80m, while Nikola Ogrodnikova of Czechia earned the bronze with 63.68m.

Although there were high hopes for the 4x400m relay team to follow the men’s 4x100m relay team in winning silver, it was Van Dyk who ultimately boosted Team SA’s medal count to six.  

"Yes, I think yesterday when the guys won silver, I heard someone say that 'We have one more medal coming' and they were referring to the 4x400m and I was like, but I'm still competing. So, I was like maybe I should win a medal," Van Dyk said.

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Van Dyk was confident she could win a medal when she departed for the Olympic Games.

Her achievement may have surprised many, but not herself.

"The plan was qualification, getting into the final and winning a medal, that was the plan, that was the goal. I didn't exceed my expectations, that was what I was aiming for but everything worked out the way we planned. I'm just grateful that everything went as it should," she added.