south african women in sport August is national Women’s Month and we’re celebrating some old and new sporting greats who have carved a name for themselves in the world of South African and international sport.
TATJANA SCHOENMAKER (24) Swimming sensation Tatjana Schoenmaker, who hails from Pretoria, swam her way into the record books at the Tokyo Olympics, breaking Olympic and world records for breaststroke, and earned South Africa’s only gold medal by storming to a world record time in the 200m breaststroke on 30 July 2021. Her time of 2:18.95 left her nearly a second ahead of Americans Lilly King and Annie Lazor, who took the silver and bronze medals She was competing in her eighth race in five days and delivered a near-perfect performance under extreme pressure. Schoenmaker, who holds a BCom degree in financial science from the University of Pretoria, also won silver in the 100m breaststroke on 27 July, having set an Olympic record in the heats. Schoenmaker quickly become the darling of the Olympic village because of her genuine delight and surprise at her performances. She was already close to tears after it hit her that she had won the 200m final, seconds after touching the wall, and her reaction when she realised it was a world record was priceless. She let out a spontaneous shriek of delight, which even gave rival Lazor a reason to smile, and she came over to hug the emotional South African. Schoenmaker had exceeded all her expectations: this being her first Olympics, she just wanted to make the final. While most of South Africa was in lockdown, Schoenmaker and her training partners suffered in freezing air
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temperatures at the University of Pretoria’s outdoor pool through winter to be ready for Tokyo. Under the guidance of renowned coach Rocco Meiring from the age of 14, Schoenmaker built her fitness and mental strength and honed her technique in tough conditions. Schoenmaker’s performance could motivate young female swimmers in the country not to give up on their swimming career straight after high school.
