# Sunette Viljoen

Sunette Stella Viljoen-Louw (born 6 October 1983) is a South African sportswoman who has represented her country in both cricket and athletics. In athletics, she competes as a javelin thrower and has won an Olympic silver medal (in 2016) and two Commonwealth Games gold medals (in 2006 and 2010), as well as medals in various other competitions. As a cricketer, she represented the South African national team between 2000 and 2002, including at the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand.

## Early life and cricket career

Viljoen was born in Rustenburg, Transvaal (present-day North West). She attended Die Hoërskool Rustenburg and her first language is Afrikaans. Viljoen made her international cricket debut for South Africa in June 2000, in a One Day International (ODI) match against England. She was 17 years and 10 days old at the time, becoming the youngest woman to play ODI cricket for South Africa (a record since broken by several others). Later in the year, Viljoen was selected in the South African squad for the 2000 Women's World Cup in New Zealand. A right-handed all-rounder, she appeared in all eight of her team's matches at the tournament, and against England scored 54 not out, which was to be the highest score of her ODI career. Against Ireland in a later match, she took 3/27 from ten overs, the best bowling figures of her international career. Viljoen's final international matches for South Africa came in March 2002, in a home series against India. She played four ODIs and the only Test match of her career, in which she scored 17 runs in the first innings and 71 in the second (the third-highest score of the match).
In December 2021, Viljoen made a return to cricket, joining Northerns with the aim of playing for her country again.

## Athletics career

Viljoen won gold at the 2009 Summer Universiade in Belgrade, throwing 62.52 metres. At the qualifying round, she set a new African record 65.46 metres, eclipsing her compatriot Justine Robbeson's record 63.49m achieved in Potchefstroom in February 2008. Viljoen's throw was over three meters further than her previous PB of 62.24 m achieved also at the February 2008 meeting in Potchefstroom. On 14 June 2010, she broke her own record with 66.38 m at the Josef Odložil Memorial in Prague.
Viljoen won silver at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea on 2 September 2011. With a throw of 68.38m, she also set a new African record. She improved her own African record to 69.35m at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York City in June 2012 Having failed to reach the final at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, she finished fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics, only 0.38 cm off the bronze medal-winning mark.
At the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, which was held in Moscow, Viljoen took only the 6th place with a mark of 63.58 meters. In 2014, she placed second at the Commonwealth Games. Later that year she won the African Championships with a result of 65.32m. Viljoen won a silver medal, coming in second to Israel's Marharyta Dorozhon, at the IAAF Diamond League Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, on 11 June 2015.
Viljoen won the silver medal in the women's javelin at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

## Competition record

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
| Representing South Africa |||||
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 16th (q) | 56.78 m |
| 2003 | All-Africa Games | Abuja, Nigeria | 3rd | 51.68 m |
| 2003 | Afro-Asian Games | Hyderabad, India | 1st | 55.49 m |
| 2004 | African Championships | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | 1st | 60.13 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 35th (q) | 54.45 m |
| 2005 | Universiade | İzmir, Turkey | 12th | 51.09 m |
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 1st | 60.72 m |
| 2006 | African Championships | Bambous, Mauritius | 2nd | 55.64 m |
| 2007 | All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 3rd | 54.46 m |
| 2007 | Universiade | Bangkok, Thailand | 5th | 58.39 m |
| 2008 | African Championships | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 1st | 55.17 m |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 33rd (q) | 55.58 m |
| 2009 | Universiade | Belgrade, Serbia | 1st | 62.52 m |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 18th (q) | 56.83 m |
| 2010 | African Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 1st | 63.33 m |
| 2010 | Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | 1st | 62.34 m |
| 2011 | Universiade | Shenzhen, China | 1st | 66.47 m |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 2nd | 68.38 m |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 4th | 64.53 m |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 6th | 63.58 m |
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 2nd | 63.19 m |
| 2014 | African Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 1st | 65.32 m |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 3rd | 65.79 m |
| 2016 | African Championships | Durban, South Africa | 1st | 64.08 m |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2nd | 64.92 m |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 3rd | 62.08 m |
| 2019 | African Games | Rabat, Morocco | 3rd | 53.44 m |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 17th (q) | 60.10 m |