Javelin champ ostracised by family for being gay

Viljoen took to Facebook earlier this week to reveal the extent of the scathing reaction of those closest to her after a fateful meeting with her partner forced her to come to terms with her true self.

Referring to the disappointing results of her participation in the 2012 London Olympics, News24 quotes the athlete’s Facebook post, which reads: “In the same week that I had so much grief and hurt, God sent a patch for my wounds in the form of love. On August 15, 2012 Limari Louw crossed my path. We have no doubt that God had sent us each other on that day exactly. As they say love comes like a thief in the night and the heart does not let it be dictated.”

Viljoen “suspected the choice I made would be a difficult road, but not in my wildest dreams did I ever thought it would be such an uphill battle.”

With her family refusing to accept the truth, she says she was, and still is, suffering “constant criticism, prejudice, stereotyping, derogatory remarks, rejection.” The athlete and her companion are currently being treated like ‘lepers.’

However, Viljoen says that “through all this, the love we have for each other never became less and giving up was never an option. On our knees we were kept, praying through the hard decisions we made”.

The athlete’s brave confession at a time when Russia is threatening to ban all homosexual competitors from the 2014 Winter Olympics.

– TEAMtalk Media