27-year-old swimmer and multiple gold and silver medalist Tatjana Smith has officially announced her retirement from competitive swimming, after a remarkable career and performance at this year’s Paris Olympics.
The news of the athlete’s retirement comes soon after she became South Africa’s most successful Olympian, winning four of the country’s last seven medals. She certainly left with a bang as her final race was nothing short of exhilarating, as she missed defending her title by 0.36 seconds ultimately making American Katie Douglas the champion this time around.
“It was an amazing battle and I’ve never raced Kate (Douglass) in an Olympic final before. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my career in a very tough battle. I’ve always loved competing,” she says in a post-meet interview. She also emphasised how the accolades are never the main focus for her, but rather the impact she had on the people who support her.
“It’s never been about that (medals), achievements fall away but you want to be remembered for who you are. I hope I’m remembered for bringing people joy.”
Although she is the epitome of humility, the swimmer has all the bragging rights as she leaves behind an illustrious career. Not only has she managed to snag herself two gold and two silver medals at the last two Olympic games, but she also won gold medals for the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, while securing a gold and silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
As previously mentioned, Tatjana retires as South Africa’s most successful Olympian of all time, however, her impact as an athlete will live beyond her years. Her talent and dedication to her sport have set an example for younger generations and have given hope to those who didn’t see themselves reaching platforms of that magnitude.
Her story is a reflection of the South African dream, and she has represented the country with the highest honour. She now looks forward to life post-swimming, “I’m very grateful to walk away with a silver medal and close the door of swimming and start a new life without swimming, I don’t know how that’s going to look like but I’m very excited to just take it all in,” she says.
She continued to express that she hopes to be given a seat amongst the spectators in the 2028 Olympics.
Also see: Tatjana Smith wins SA’s first gold at 2024 Paris Olympics
