How throwing a cricket ball led Sunette Viljoen to winning a javelin Olympic silver medal
Sunette Viljoen, the only Test cricketer to win an Olympic silver medal, transitioned from cricket to javelin after a coach noticed her throwing talent, leading to a successful dual-sport career highlighted by her 2016 Rio Olympics javelin silver and current success with the Lions women’s cricket team. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
Sunette Viljoen is not your average sportsperson, as she is the only Test cricketer to have won any Olympic silver medal.
Viljoen, 41, played her only Test match for South Africa way back in 2002 before switching to athletics in the women’s javelin event.
A stellar career in athletics followed as she would go on to win numerous medals at major championships, highlighted by her silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Having switched back to cricket after hanging up her javelin in 2020, Viljoen, now in her third season at the Lions women’s cricket team, revealed how a chance encounter with an athletics coach changed the course of her life.
From Cricket to Javelin: Viljoen’s Journey to Discovering Her Talent
“When I was little, I always played all kinds of sports, and specifically one of them was cricket,” Viljoen told IOL in an exclusive interview.
“I always played with my little friends, with my boyfriends, and when I was at school, I was the first girl to play cricket with the boys Under-11A and Under-12A.
“And then because of my cricket arm that I had at high school, I threw the cricket ball one day, and then the javelin coach saw how far I could throw a cricket ball. He said I must come and try javelin, and at first, I didn't get it right, and then a few years later, I tried it again, and then the javelin just flew.”
Viljoen’s Dual Success: A Remarkable Journey in Both Cricket and Athletics
At the time of her debut for the Proteas back in 2000 at the age of 17, Viljoen set the record as the youngest woman to play for her country at that stage. Still, with the game a long way from turning professional in South Africa, the switch to athletics made much more sense for Viljoen’s future.
“I was fortunate enough to get an athletics bursary from the North West University, and then I still played cricket when I was in matric. And then because cricket back then was amateur, I got a bursary, as I said, for athletics where all my studies got paid for, and then I went into athletics.”
“Yeah, I'm very proud of my athletics career that I had. Going to four Olympic Games, going to seven World Championships, four Commonwealth Games, which I won four Commonwealth Games medals in the middle.
“Then when I couldn't go to Tokyo in 2020, because of a shoulder injury that I had, I said, ‘Oh well, just to get me through that heartache, let me play cricket again.’ I did so well, so quickly again, then I played a little short while for the Titans for a few games, and then I got contracted at the DP World Lions.”
Many players have had to choose one sport or the other; however, for Viljoen, she has had a career in which she has tasted success at the highest level in two sports.
Regrets? Viljoen certainly doesn’t have any.