GARY LEMKE in Paris
Tatjana Smith came into the 2024 Olympics as the silver medallist from Tokyo in the 100m breaststroke and the gold medallist in the 200m. Now, few would bet against her surpassing her heroics there and taking gold-gold at these Games.
She certainly laid down that marker by blazing her way to victory in both her heat and semi-final in the 100m at the Paris La Defense Arena on Sunday.
Amazingly, she touched the wall in winning both races on the day in 1min 05.00sec. How rare is that? Then again, the 27-year-old South African is a rare talent.
Speaking of rare talents, Pieter Coetze is still only 20, but joined the medals conversation for the men’s 100m backstroke. He was impressive in the morning heats but went quicker in the evening, breaking the African record with a 52.63 touch, for tie second and tied third overall heading into Monday night’s final.
Smith has always said that she takes races one at a time. She says that she swims as fast as she can and doesn’t look at the time. She says she ought to hold something back in the 100m because the 200m is her preferred event. However, that doesn’t look to be the case when you’re watching from the stands.
She is now a firm favourite to claim gold on Monday night.
“I’m just so grateful swimming to be good times again,” the Team SA superstar said. “I haven’t been close to my time from Tokyo (1:04.82), so to be swimming my best times since then is an amazing feeling. I’m just happy to be enjoying every race and it doesn’t matter what times I do put up. It’s about the experience and how happy I am to be here doing what I’m doing.”
The first semi-final of the evening was won by China’s Qianting Tang in 1:05.83. She was leading the world rankings in the event coming to Paris, with a time of 1:04.39, but she hasn’t threatened that time in Paris and won the first semi-final, the slower of the two, in 1:05.83. That places her fourth fastest heading into the final, with Mona McSharry (1:05.51) and Lily King (1:05.64) emerging as bigger threats to the South African.
Smith, racing as Tatjana Schoemaker in Tokyo three years ago, had then lowered the Olympic record to 1:04.82, also in the semi-finals. That was without a crowd due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Here the crowd will have give her an extra gear and after that eye-popping morning heat of 1:05.00 she returned to the pool for the evening swim and mirrored that swim.
In the heats she went out and turned in 30.57, before coming back to touch in 1:05.00, In teh evening she went out and 30.63, before coming back to touch in 1:05.00. So, marginally of course, she went out faster in the morning, but came home quicker in the evening. Either way, it’s gold medal form.
Photo: ANTON GEYSER/Team SA
SOURCED FROM THE SASCOC WEBSITE.
