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Olympic silver medallist Jo-Ane du Plessis is set to compete at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on Friday night, her first competition since undergoing back surgery in April. The javelin thrower is one of the country’s golden hopes for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that kick off on July 23, though she’ll be up against world championship bronze medallist Mackenzie Little of Australia. Du Plessis, the runner-up at the 2024 Games in Paris, ended fourth in Tokyo last year, only 0.52m behind the Australian, who is also in action on Friday. The South African athlete damaged a disc that required surgery, but she was confident she was fully fit, only needing to sharpen up. The women’s javelin field at the Herculis meet also features: the world championship runner-up Anete Sietina of Latvia;Japan’s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi, also the 2023 world champion; and 2025 Diamond League champion Elina Tzengko of Greece. Du Plessis is also scheduled to compete a few more times, including at the London Diamond League next Saturday, to get in some much-needed practice ahead of Glasgow 2026.The only other South African competing in Monaco is Zakithi Nene in the 400m, where he goes up against Botswana’s world champion Collen Kebinatshipi, who is unbeaten in three Diamond League outings to date this year. Nene, who won in Sweden, has been in great form, beating big names so far this season, but the Botswana speedster leads their head-to-head 5-2, having beaten the Durban-based sprinter twice in 2026.
