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="auto, (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.

Swimming – Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 3

‘Don’t Want To Swim To Become Famous’: Tatjana Smith Wins Africa’s First Gold In Paris Olympics

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker won gold at the Olympics in Tokyo on Friday, setting the tone for Uganda and Ethiopia following on the leader board. With more events still to unfold, there is still room for strong showings.



South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker brought home the continent’s first gold medal on Friday, in the process smashing the world record for the women’s 200m breaststroke, with a finishing time of 2:18.95.



The 24-year old became the first female South African swimmer to win gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in a quarter of a century, delivering a supreme performance to finish ahead of America’s Lilly King and Annie Lazor. Emotional at her victory, Schoenmaker was still in the water when she saw the scoreboards indicate she had set a new world record, and shrieked with delight before being congratulated by her rivals, and earning her second medal for the games so far after having won the silver in the women’s 100m breaststroke earlier in the week. Schoenmaker received a surprise congratulatory phone call from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday after her victory. Given the tumultuous few weeks the country has seen, the president had some supportive and unifying words for the swimmer, who was strongly celebrated back home.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="736" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-1024x736.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52007" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-1024x736.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-300x216.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-768x552.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-1536x1104.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-2048x1472.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; JULY 30: Gold Medalist Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa during the medal ceremony of the 200m Breaststroke final on day seven of the swimming competition of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



 “You have lifted the country,” said Ramaphosa in a recording of the clip released by the Presidency, “Thank you so much. It was just unbelievable. You have done this for the country and for yourself and we honour you &#8230; we are really delighted to have seen this unbelievable performance.&#8221; South Africa leads the continent’s medals at the games so far, which has seen Ethiopia’s Selemon Berega win gold for the men’s 10,000m, and Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei set world records in three different events at the games so far. South Africa currently stands at one gold and two silver medals, Uganda with one silver and one bronze, and Ethiopia with one gold. With many of the athletics events still to come, there is still plenty of room for the teams to bring more success and glory to their countries.

Tag: Team South Africa

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

‘Don’t Want To Swim To Become Famous’: Tatjana Smith Wins Africa’s First Gold In Paris Olympics

Making A Splash And More Glory