Tatjana Schoenmaker shows her joy at winning the 200m breaststroke final in a world record time in Tokyo on Friday. Picture: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
While South Africa was celebrating her historic performance in the pool on Friday, Olympic star Tatjana Schoenmaker said she had been so focussed on the task at hand that she hadn’t even noticed.
There was adulation around the globe for the 24-year-old swimmer after she shattered the eight-year-old world record to win gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke final at the Tokyo Games.
However, standing at the side of the pool in a stadium without fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Schoenmaker admitted she wasn’t aware of the response back home during her spectacular Olympic campain.
“I haven’t seen anything since the day I started swimming,” Schoenmaker said in the same relaxed, light-hearted tone she used while addressing the media throughout the Games.
“I put all notifications off on my phone this week so it was quiet and I could concentrate.
“I’m sure all the messages were good, but I only had so many days to focus on my racing, and I have the rest of the year to reply to everyone and say thanks.”
Among those who praised Schoenmaker for her performances was Penny Heyns, the last South African woman to win a gold medal in the pool at the Olympics.
Heyns, who won gold in the 100m and 200m breaststroke finals at the 1996 Atlanta Games, referred to Schoenmaker’s performance in the 200m final as “the perfect swim”.
Though her younger compatriot had broken all her national records in recent years, Heyns was delighted with Schoenmaker, who also bagged silver in the 100m breaststroke event in Tokyo to close her campaign with two medals.
“You leave me speechless and make me cry. Well done Tatjana… so proud of you,” Heyns said on social media.
Schoenmaker said Heyns had stayed in touch with her and showed her support throughout her career, and she was grateful to be appreciated by one of SA’s all-time greats.
“For her to say congrats is so special because she used to be an amazing swimmer and she has such a name in the swimming world,” Schoenmaker said.
Away from the track, Wayde van Niekerk said Schoenmaker and surfing silver medallist Bianca Buitendag had done well to motivate the rest of the national squad.
By stepping on the podium during the first week of the Games, the sprinter said both medallists had given the track and field team a boost as they started their hunt for medals.
Van Niekerk, who broke the 400m world record to win gold at the 2016 Rio Games, was preparing to line up in the first-round heats on Sunday, in defence of his Olympic title.
“When you see the medal tally starting to drift up, you want to make sure you add to that tally,” Van Niekerk said.
“We can continue building on that momentum, so the ladies have done well. It has been inspiring.”
