Tatjana Smith, South Africa’s most decorated Olympian, has retired from swimming after winning silver in the women’s 200m breaststroke race.
Smith was aiming for a record breaststroke double after winning the gold medal in the 100m on Monday. But she had to settle for second place after the United States’ Kate Douglas performed a stunning swim to win the 200m gold, setting a new national record.
Smith now has the same number of Olympic medals as Chad le Clos, but has more medal weight.
Le Clos has one gold and three silver medals, while Smith has two golds and two silvers, having won gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m breaststroke events in Tokyo in 2021.
Her gold medal in the 100m in Paris tied her with swimmer Penny Heyns and track star Caster Semenya for the most gold medals at an Olympics.
“It was incredible. That’s what sport is about – it’s that battle,” Smith said after the race.
“Obviously everybody wants to touch the wall first, but I’m just as happy to get the silver medal because I love that competitiveness.
“I’m so grateful that I still get to walk away with a medal. I’m walking away from the Olympics with two medals, I’m a double Olympian so I can’t complain.
“I’m officially done. It’s a relief, but I definitely know I’m probably, tomorrow, going to miss it already. It’s been a big part of my life, it’s 22 years that I’ve been swimming and it’s been a big part of my family’s life and everything.”
Kaylene Corbett finished in seventh place in the same 200m breaststroke final in a time of 2:24.46 and has already set her sights on the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“There’s a lot to improve on from that race. Sometimes sport just is sport and you don’t get everything right in a race, so I’m definitely a little bit disappointed in that race, but at the same time you can’t be disappointed because this is where God placed you tonight and I know there’s a blessing waiting for me at the end.
“I definitely saw Tatjana battle it out with Kate, but you know that Tatiana doesn’t give up and she’s always fighting.
“I think the two of us had some serious challenges coming off of Tokyo into 2024. We had different challenges, but I can definitely speak for myself in this regard that I’m a much stronger person in comparison to 2021 in Tokyo.
“I think that this time around I just feel very proud of myself in what I’ve achieved and being able to come to another Olympic Games. I mean, if I had to tell eight-year-old Kaylene that she’s a double Olympian and she made two finals and she’s top eight in the world, that’s incredible, so I’m very happy.”
