Tatjana Smith amassed two Olympic gold medals and two silvers in her career, more than any other South African across all sports. 



South Africa’s most-decorated Olympian of all time, Tatjana Smith, has announced she will hang up her swim cap and goggles after bowing out of the pool with a silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke final at Paris 2024 on Thursday. 



Smith, who had hinted at her retirement before the final, has long spoken of her struggles with being in the limelight and at the age of 27 will forge a new path in life, though she wants to stay close to the sport. 



&#8220;I think it&#8217;s really just now embracing life and seeing what&#8217;s outside of swimming, what my passions are,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think when I was swimming, I was really focusing on swimming because to stay motivated you need to be passionate about your sport, and I never really shifted my mindset. 



&#8220;Now it&#8217;s going to be tomorrow is day one of the life without swimming.&#8221; 



Recently married Smith, who competed at Tokyo 2020 under the surname Schoenmaker, amassed two Olympic gold medals and two silvers in her career, more than any other South African across all sports. 



Although she will no longer compete, she says helping to bring through the next generation of swimmers is something that is important to her. 



&#8220;I feel like I want to give something back to swimming, especially in South Africa,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Just representing swimmers and athletes, we don&#8217;t really have that in South Africa. It&#8217;s a very unknown sport.&#8221; 



Smith had qualified as second fastest for Thursday’s 200-meter final behind Kate Douglass from the United States, having already won gold in the 100 meters. 



It was those two who fought for the line, with Douglass winning in a time of 2:19.24, just ahead of Smith (2:19.60).&nbsp;



&#8220;It was an amazing battle, and I&#8217;ve never raced Kate in an Olympic final before,” Smith said. “I couldn&#8217;t have asked for a better way to end my career in a very tough battle. I&#8217;ve always loved competing.” 



As for how she will be remembered, Smith hopes it is for more than medals. 



&#8220;Achievements fall away,” she said. “You are remembered for who you are, and I want to be remembered for bringing people joy. Swimming is a part of a season in your life and now I&#8217;m excited to live life.”&nbsp;

Swimming – Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 3

‘Couldn’t Have Asked For Better Way To End My Career’: South Africa’s Golden Girl Retires After Making History

Africa’s only other medal so far has come from Egyptian fencer Mohamed El Sayed, who secured the bronze in the men&#8217;s epee individual event.



Swimmer Tatjana Smith has claimed Africa’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games after a thrilling late surge in the women’s 100-meters breaststroke final took her to victory in a time of 1:05.28.



Smith, who won a silver medal in the event three years ago in Tokyo when she swam under the surname Schoenmaker, looked to be out of contention going into the final 20 meters, but edged China’s Tang Qianting (1:05.54) and Mona McSharry (1:05.59) from Ireland to the line.



An emotional Smith admitted it had been a difficult time since Tokyo, where she also won the gold medal in the 200-meters breaststroke, as she battled with her new-found fame and had considered giving up the sport.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2164264749.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-62587" style="width:580px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2164264749.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2164264749-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2164264749-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Smith celebrates after winning gold in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


“It was a really tough three years. Just to be back here, swim and have fun, that is a blessing. To enjoy every moment has been special,” Smith told reporters.



“With all of these athletes, they work so hard and eat right, but it comes down to the mental side. Tokyo was such a blessing, the achievements, but it added a lot of expectation and pressure on me.



“I don’t want to swim to become famous, I swim because I love it so much. I had to deal with a lot of those things, everyone wanting a piece of you. That was hard, because I am a very introverted person. But it challenged my character and I have grown out of it.”



Smith will be looking to defend her title in the 200-meters breaststroke that gets underway on Wednesday and concludes on Thursday night.



Paris is becoming a special city for Smith and her family. Her change in surname came about when she married Joel Smith, the brother-in-law of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi.



The latter lifted the Rugby World Cup in Paris last year and now lives in the city, where he plays his club rugby for Racing 92.



The medal is South Africa’s third at the Games after the Rugby Sevens team won the bronze and Alan Hatherly did likewise in the men’s cross-country mountain bike race.



Africa’s only other medal so far has come from Egyptian fencer Mohamed El Sayed, who secured the bronze in the men&#8217;s epee individual event.

Tag: TATJANA SCHOEMAKER

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‘Couldn’t Have Asked For Better Way To End My Career’: South Africa’s Golden Girl Retires After Making History

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