Tatjana Smith arrived back in SA yesterday, sporting her Olympic 100m breaststroke gold. | Timothy Bernard Independent Newspapers
OBAKENG MELETSE
Tatjana Smith sported a broad smile as hundreds of proud South Africans took over OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to welcome their superstar swimmer back from the Olympic Games yesterday.
Smith backed up her sensational performance at the 2021 Tokyo Games with two more medals – a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke and a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke – to further enhance her reputation as one of the best in the world, and the greatest South African Olympian ever.
A huge cheer went up earlier when @OfficialTeamRSA 's most decorated Olympian @TRSchoenmaker made her entrance at @ortambo_int as she was welcomed back by minister @GaytonMcK and the swimmer's adoring fans.@IOL @IOLsport #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Id0YbQI3Hs
— Michael Sherman (@Golfhackno1) August 13, 2024
Team SA ended the Games with a total of six medals, and thanks to Smith, they finished as the third-best placed African team behind Algeria and Kenya.
The 27-year-old announced her retirement from the sport after the 200m final two weeks ago and she bows out with both her 100m (1:04.82) and 200m (2:18.95) Olympic records, which were recorded three years ago in Tokyo, still intact.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie was in attendance and Smith was relieved to have met all the expectations the country had of her.
“This welcoming has been mind-blowing,” she said.
“I have only been to two Olympics and coming back from Tokyo was obviously not the same because of the Covid situation. I never thought I’d be standing on the other side.
“It’s always nice celebrating the Springboks and everyone coming back with their medals, but experiencing it is really humbling and I’m grateful for it.
“After Tokyo, my whole life changed. I had a lot more expected of me. People don’t want to see you fail, and I don’t want to fail my country. Having to manage those expectations was not easy. There were a lot of times where I wanted to stop because it was just too much, but I remembered why I’m doing this and the dream I had.
“This one was big for me because it took my whole community. Tokyo was easy because you’re coming in and you’re trying to prove yourself and you’re still young.”
The former TuksSport student is ready for the next chapter in her life, but she’s also not ruling out a coaching or mentoring role in future.
“It is a bit of a bitter pill to swallow but I am finished. This will probably be the last time I am wearing the green and gold.
“Representing my country has had its challenges, but in the midst of everything we faced we still rose above those ...
“Everything that I have learned through swimming can be useful to help someone else. I’m definitely not against it if someone wants to ask for advice, but as for taking a job professionally as a coach, maybe ... I don’t know yet.”
South Africa doubled their medal tally from the Tokyo Olympics, and Smith believes that despite the lack of facilities in SA, there is enough talent for the country to be among the best in the world.
“As South Africans, we undermine how good we are. When we are in those spaces of being around the Americans, we immediately think we are not good enough,” Smith said.
“We don’t have the facilities, and I think everyone in every sport that goes to the Olympics (it) is to prove to everyone and to tell them that we don’t have to be scared or feel like we don’t deserve the position.
“By achieving what we have achieved with what we have now, just imagine what we could achieve if we had the facilities they have.”
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