Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) surged from behind to claim Team South Africa’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning the women’s 100m breaststroke final on Monday night.
Smith, who secured silver in this event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, had to close the gap after China’s Tang Qianting raced ahead from the start. Qianting completed the first 50m in just 29.94 seconds, while Smith turned at 30.62 seconds. Ireland’s Mona McSharry, also performing well in lane two, nearly took the lead with a strong finish.
However, Smith, the gold medalist in the 200m breaststroke from Tokyo, made a powerful comeback and executed a near-perfect finish. She touched the wall ahead of Qianting, who was fading toward the end, while McSharry finished in third place.
Smith’s time of 1:05.28 was slower than her performances in the heats, but she won’t be concerned after clinching the gold medal. She now has the opportunity to compete for another medal in the 200m breaststroke, the event that brought her prominence after the Tokyo Olympics.
In the men’s 100m backstroke final, South Africa’s Pieter Coetze placed fifth with a time of 52.58 in a tightly contested race. Coetze had finished joint-second in the semi-finals, surpassing the African record he set at the SA championships in Gqeberha earlier this year.
Italy’s Thomas Ceccon won the gold, marking Italy’s second swimming gold of the Paris Games.
Ceccon claimed victory with a time of 52.00 seconds, while China’s Xu Jiayu finished 0.32 seconds behind to take the silver. Ryan Murphy of the USA earned the bronze.