Viljoen beats backache and spears a javelin bronze at Commonwealth games
Viljoen won the fourth Commonwealth Games medal of her career weeks after a debilitating back injury that had prevented her from even throwing, writes David Isaacson
Sunette Viljoen won the fourth Commonwealth Games medal of her career on Wednesday‚ merely weeks after a debilitating back injury that had prevented her from even throwing. Viljoen‚ the champion at Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010 and runner-up at Glasgow 2014‚ took the javelin bronze behind Australians Kathryn Mitchell and Kelsey-Lee Roberts. Mitchell effectively sealed the competition on her first attempt as she launched a 68.92m personal best to better the Games record by nearly three metres. Viljoen’s 62.08m opener was her best effort too‚ and it kept her in second place until the final sixth round when Roberts bumped her down to third place with a throw of 63.89m. But the South African was beaming‚ having got through her first international competition pain free for the first time since mid-2017. “Three weeks before Commonwealth Games I couldn’t throw‚” said Viljoen. “I went back and forth to doctors and physios. There was a nerve in my lower back that got pinched. It was so sore....
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