See all of our 2024 Swammy Awards right here.
Successful this award for the sixth and except a comeback is already within the works for the final time is South Africa’s Tatjana Smith. The 27 12 months outdated South African, who received the award from 2018-2021 after which once more final 12 months below her maiden title of Tatjana Schoenmaker, was the clear favourite as she put collectively among the finest particular person applications and earned not solely the one swimming medals for her nation however her gold and silver make up one-third of the entire medals received by her nation.
Already an Olympic and World Champion within the 200 breaststroke, excessive expectations had been positioned upon her, and Smith didn’t disappoint. After a powerful efficiency on the South African Qualifying meet, the place Smith swept the breaststroke occasions, going 1:05.48 within the 100 and a couple of:19.01 within the 200, each instances which had been sooner than her performances in Fukuoka, the place she received silver within the 100 (1:05.84) and gold within the 200 (2:20.80).
Coming into Paris, Smith had extra than simply an Olympic title to defend because the South African was closely featured in advert campaigns. Within the lead-up to the Video games, the official Paris2024 Instagram web page (which is now defunct) used clips of her win (and subsequent response) together with snippets of the tie for gold within the males’s excessive soar between Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa, the clip of Misugu Okamoto’s opponents hoisting her onto their shoulders after she fell within the skateboarding park finals and Derek Redmond’s father working out to assist him after he tore his hamstring on the Barcelona Video games.
Set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Method” the Instagram reel, which sadly has been misplaced to the abyss that may be a deleted profile, was the inspiration for the primary paragraph of the Olympics Day 9 Finals Dwell Recap. Whereas that clip may not have reached a broad viewers, Coca-Cola’s business about Smith and her opponents Lilly King, Annie Lazor, and Kaylene Corbett definitely did.
The fifth seed within the 100 breast, Smith, the defending Olympic silver medalist, proved to be the cream of the crop because the South African blitzed the prelims and semis, recording equal instances of 1:05.00. Nonetheless, in an occasion with such unpredictability—there hasn’t been a back-to-back winner in over 40 years on the Olympics and at a World Championships since Lilly King received in 2017 and 2019—nothing was going to be simple for Smith.
Tied for 4th on the 50 flip (30.62), Smith used her backhalf pace to surge previous Benedetta Pilato, Angharad Evans, Mona McSharry, and Tang Qianting and take the win and gold medal in 1:05.28, closing what had been a .68 hole between her and Tang to win by .26, as soon as once more exhibiting the endearing emotional response that noticed her develop into beloved by swimming fan throughout the globe.
A number of days later, because the defending Olympic Champion, Smith entered the 200 breaststroke because the third seed. Just like the 100, Smith was the perfect swimmer out of the prelims, swimming 2:21.57, and improved within the semis, dropping a 2:19.94, albeit being handed by the American Kate Douglass, who would have the highest seed with a time of two:19.74. The pair, the one two below 2:22 within the semis, had a two-swimmer duel within the remaining. Smith was out quickest, reverse her 100 technique, however Douglass had handed her by the 100 flip and by no means appeared again, taking the win in 2:19.24, with Smith settling for the silver in 2:19.60, a bit off her Olympic Document of two:18.95 from Tokyo.
Whereas her Olympic Document will stand for not less than one other 4 years, Smith’s legacy will final for much longer than that. After accumulating a gold and silver medal in Paris, Smith grew to become South Africa’s most embellished Olympian in historical past, equalling fellow swimmer Chad le Clos’s medal rely, however together with her two golds outweighing his one. Earlier than being introduced as her nation’s flag bearer on the closing ceremony, Smith introduced her retirement.
Smith’s legacy expands additional than her medals as nicely, and she or he spearheaded a revitalization of girls’s swimming in South Africa because the likes of Aimee Canny, Erin Gallagher, and Rebecca Meder look to choose up the reigns. Whereas 4 Olympic medals will probably be laborious to switch, South Africa just isn’t with out breaststrokw expertise as Lara Van Niekerk and Kaylene Corbett have loads of worldwide expertise. Corbett, who was part of the 2020 celebration, made the ultimate of the 200 breaststroke once more in Paris, ending in seventh with a time of two:24.46.
After her retirement, in chatting with SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodges, Smith said, “didn’t do swimming to develop into well-known…” including, “I’ve been blessed with this platform and the way can I exploit this to vary issues…”. So whereas she might not be competing anymore, Smith definitely received’t disappear from the game, and within the face of the adversity that confronted South African swimmers (and divers, waterpolo gamers), Smith definitely ” confronted all of it, and [she] stood tall, and did it [her] method.” (Apologies to Frank for altering the lyrics to suit the wanted pronouns).
Honorable Mentions:
- Farida Osman, Egypt – With dash occasions being so brief, each element should be good in an effort to be at one’s greatest, and Farida Osman is without doubt one of the greatest. The Egyptian Nationwide, who competed collegiately on the College of California, displayed exceptional consistency, making her seventh straight finals look within the 50 Fly at a Lengthy Course World Championships, only one in need of the document held by Federica Pellegrini (8 – 200 free). Osman, a three-time Olympian for Egypt, hit the wall in 25.67 within the remaining to earn her the bronze medal. Whereas off her African document of 25.38 from 2022, the journey to the rostrum was the third for Osman, after having additionally claimed bronze within the occasion in 2017 and 2019.
- Rebecca Meder, South Africa – The South African girls did harm to their nationwide document board (and continental document) with the data being reset in two lengthy course occasions and 5 brief course occasions over the previous 12 months. Aimee Canny and Erin Gallagher broke the African document within the 200 free and 100 fly, respectively, at their Olympic Qualifying meet, and Gallagher was simply .02 away from successful a medal on the 2024 LC Worlds, however Rebecca Meder is getting the sting, for the second honorable point out place. Meder ended the 12 months on a excessive, making the finals in 4 occasions on the Budapest Quick Course Worlds, putting fifth within the 200 breast and sixth within the 100 breast, 100 IM, and 200 IM. The time achieved within the latter two occasions, 57.69 and a couple of:05.61, are each new Nationwide and Continental data. Meder’s 12 months ended nicely, however nothing was abnormal in regards to the begin of it. She was restricted to only a 50 again on the Nationwide Championships in April after having to endure an emergency appendectomy three weeks prior, however she nonetheless managed to not solely compete on the Olympics but in addition to set a brand new nationwide document within the 200 IM, putting eleventh within the semifinals in Paris, an enormous enchancment on her twenty third place end from Tokyo.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
- 2023 Swammy — Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa
- 2022 Swammy – Lara van Niekerk, South Africa
- 2021 Swammy – Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa
- 2020 Swammy – Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa
- 2019 Swammy — Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa
- 2018 Swammy — Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa
- 2017 Swammy — Farida Osman, Egypt
- 2016 Swammy — Farida Osman, Egypt
- 2015 Swammy — Farida Osman, Egypt
- 2014 Swammy — Karin Prinsloo, South Africa
- 2013 Swammy — Farida Osman, Egypt
