Paris 2024 Olympics: Why South Africa's Tatjana Smith is swimming for a higher purpose
Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) is the personification of a ray of sunshine. The South African swimmer draws group hugs from fierce competitors and revels in the accomplishments of her teammates.
But behind her smile, Smith hides the killer instinct that has seen her rise to the apex of female breaststroke swimming.
The 27-year-old Smith came into her second Olympics in Paris 2024 as the defending champion in her pet 200m breaststroke event and silver in the 100m distance. Three years ago, she nearly won the 100m-200m breaststroke double – a rare feat only South African legend Penny Heyns achieved before in Atlanta 1996.
Smith upgraded her 100m breaststroke silver to gold in Paris 2024 making her the most successful South African Olympian becoming only the fourth athlete from her nation to win two golds at the Games. She follows in the footsteps of Heyns, Caster Semenya and Charles Winslow.
To bring an end to a short but decorated career, Smith won the silver medal in the 200m breaststroke in the City of Lights on 1 August touching second behind Team USA’s Kate Douglass.
Smith announced she would hang up her goggles and swim cap after Paris 2024 bowing out as South Africa's most decorated athlete ever at the Olympics. Fellow swimming icon Chad le Clos also has four medals behind his name with his gold and three silver medals from London 2012 and Rio 2016.
"I am just grateful to have the opportunity to end off my career in this way. I couldn't be happier!" Smith told Olympics.com.
"I'm excited to in the future tell my kids I used to swim there (Olympics) once. I am just grateful that I can walk away with medals. It is any athlete's dream.
"Achievements eventually fall away but you want to be remembered for the person you are and what you bring to people.
"I hope my story inspires one person, and if that happens I've reached my goal. It's never about trying to inspire millions, it's about inspiring that one person to never disqualify themselves from the race."
Tatjana Smith: A pioneer of South African female sport
Smith has since continued to shift horizons becoming the first South African female to win a gold medal at a World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka last year with her triumph in the 200m breaststroke. Fukuoka was a repeat of her Tokyo 2020 medal haul, adding silver to her collection in the 100m event.
Smith’s life has made a 360-degree turn since her historic win in Tokyo. Other than adding to her growing list of accolades, Smith’s personal life had gone through radical changes.
Her parents relocated to the Netherlands in 2021 which she said affected her more than she had anticipated. While she no longer has her parents within hugging distance, Smith had gained a new family over the last few years after getting married in 2023.
Perhaps the biggest aspect Smith had to adapt to was dealing with the weight of expectations as a defending champion. Three years ago, she carried South Africa at the Olympics winning two of the country’s three medals.
*“*The build-up to Tokyo was just easy compared to everything I had to face in the build-up to Paris,” Smith said.
“I had to prepare from the perspective of already being an Olympic champion. That adds a lot of pressure and expectation. And then also to maintain that performance. It is quite challenging to maintain that type of performance over such a long period.”
TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 30: Tatjana Schoenmaker of Team South Africa is congratulated by Lilly King of Team United States, Annie Lazor of Team United States and Kaylene Corbett of Team South Africa after winning the gold medal and breaking the world record after competing in the Women's 200m Breaststroke Final on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Tatjana Smith: Embracing trying conditions
Preparation for the Paris Olympics had its challenges, especially for Southern Hemisphere swimmers like Smith who has to train in an outdoor pool. Training times are not adjusted which means sessions are held early on cold winter mornings.
To add to the barriers, Smith often shares the pool with more than 80 other swimmers where lanes can get a bit crowded.
But in keeping with her sunny disposition, Smith does not give in to the temptation to complain about the trying conditions. Training sessions can be a vibe, and it is one that Smith seems to embrace.
“The lane space is obviously crowded, so that could get frustrating on its own,” she said.
“But it really pushes you to grow as an individual. It helps you find your strengths amid this group because, at the end of the day, you're the one that's going to race the race by yourself.”
Growing a winning mindset
Rocco Meiring, who has coached Smith for nearly a decade, said his charge’s ability to self-correct was perhaps her biggest asset and separated her from many other swimmers.
“Tatjana has the ability – when she is not winning – to process the loss and take the lessons out of the defeat. She can quickly identify the mistakes and correct them,” Meiring told Olympics.com.
“Successful athletes handle the setbacks better. They take lessons out of the setbacks and the rest they forget. They don’t ruminate over it. They do not allow it to influence their confidence and their fighting spirit. The next time they are ready to go. They are not afraid to lose.”
Smith once again proved that South Africa did not have to export its talent to the United States to be developed. She followed in the footsteps of Cameron van der Burgh and Le Clos, who made it to the pinnacle of the sport as home-trained swimmers.
The four-time Olympic medallist's ability to treat each setback as a learning experience has forged her character and prepared her for the pressures of performing on the international stage.
Tatjana Smith happy to fade into the background
While Meiring is credited as the architect of Smith’s success, he sees himself as a glorified timekeeper where he learns "more from her than she does from him". Smith laughs at her mentor’s assertion and jokes that he perhaps doubles as her "psychologist".
The relationship, which has been forged over many years, allows Smith the space to be herself and flourish as a self-identified introvert.
“I don't like to attract attention. So, I just go to training, and keep my head low. Train and get home. So, I'm really there to train,” Smith said before adding a caveat.
“I love my friends there, but if we want to have a friendship, we'll have it outside of that pool, because it is a job for me. I love what I do, but it is my career, so I want to separate the two things. When the career ends, I still want to have those friendships.”
Smith has always been reluctant to speak about her podium prospects. In her mind, Smith is swimming for a higher purpose. Winning medals and breaking records are the byproducts of honouring her raison d'être.
“I swim because I love it. I also swim for a bigger purpose which is to use my talents to glorify God through my swimming,” she said.
“The world has defied success as medals and records where success is different in my mind. And I think that is why I'm very easy to go back and never be hard on myself in terms of that. I just try and find the next thing to improve a little bit more.”
Smith paid homage to the 'village' that helped her win her second Olympic gold medal by wearing a shirt with a laundry list of names printed on the back of a black shirt during the medal ceremony for the 100m breaststroke in Paris on Monday (29 July).
"For me, the emotions were really because it took a village to get me to where I am. I know they would have been proud even if I didn't have a medal," Smith said.
"But it was really for them. I swam for everyone that's been there for me and believed with me."
Tatjana Smith: 'Why not try?'
Smith’s outlook on success does not diminish her competitive spirit. She admits being disappointed when Evgeniia Chikunova broke her 200m record from Tokyo 2020. Chikunova, who will not be in action in Paris 2024, shattered Smith’s record with a blistering 2:17.55 in April 2023.
“It was funny because it was right after my engagement, so it wasn't the nicest news to get. But it was also great because it made me realise that 2:17 was a possibility,” Smith said, again baring her glass-half-full attitude.
“That's where it shifted in the way I pushed myself in training. In my mind there's a 2:17, so 2:19 is good, but it's not there yet because someone is capable of swimming at 2:17. When Rocco said he thinks I could go faster, I was like, 'Yoh, like, can we just relax? Like I just made it to 2:18. And then you see this girl doing so well. It pushes you to stop putting limits on yourself. It's possible to go faster. So why not try?!”