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Rio de Janeiro - Sunette Viljoen's son, Henre, was not in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night (Friday morning, SA time) watching his mother win an Olympic silver medal.
Why? Because cricket if far more important, of course.
"He wanted to not miss school. He loves playing cricket so he didn’t want to miss his cricket game," Viljoen beamed after her big night at the Olympic Stadium.
"He’s probably sleeping right now and he’ll know tomorrow that his mom won a medal."
Viljoen says Henre is still too young to completely understand the significance of the Games, but she did open up on a touching message she had received from him before leaving for Rio.
"He wrote me such a special message before I left," Viljoen said.
"He said ‘whether mommy comes first or second, to me you are the best in the world.’
"If I throw the javelin 10m or 70m he’s just proud of me. So now to come back with a medal I think he will be very proud of me.
"For him, I’m just his mom."
Viljoen said she would be going out for a quiet drink or two on Thursday night to celebrate, but she had big plans for her medal after Friday's ceremony.
"I just want to take a few days to see a bit of Rio because the only thing I’ve seen for the last week was the dining hall and back (to the hotel)," she said.
"It will be good to go out a bit and to see Rio and take my medal to Christ the Redeemer ... that’s what I want to do."
Lloyd Burnard is Sport24's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro for the duration of the 2016 Olympics ...
