![]() “And then my teammate making the final, that’s a massive achievement for her and I think she’s had the biggest smile on her face.” “I did have the Russian girl next to me again and she swam an amazing time - so happy for her as well, 16 years old. “It’s so nice racing different girls,” said Schoenmaker. She, however, preferred to talk about the achievements of her competitors. Schoenmaker, who won the 100m breaststroke silver on Tuesday after setting an Olympic record in the heats of that event, remains the overwhelming favourite to scoop Team SA’s first gold of the Games. And the last occasion two SA women were in the same Games final was at Sydney 2000 when Penny Heyns and Sarah Poewe finished third and fourth in the 100m breaststroke.īack then Schoenmaker was just three years old and Corbett one. That last happened at Athens 2004 when Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling ended second and fourth in the men’s 100m freestyle. Schoenmaker’s Tuks teammate Kaylene Corbett won the other semifinal, lowering her personal best to 2:22.08 to post the fourth-fastest time overall and ensure that two SA swimmers will compete in the same Olympic final. Russia’s Evgenila Chikunova improved to 2:20.57 and American Annie Lazor to 2:21.94, finishing second and third in the semifinal behind the South African. It’s slower only than the 2:19.11 world mark by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen from 2013, and her own 2:19.16 Olympic record in Wednesday’s heats. ![]() Schoenmaker, nearly three seconds quicker than the field in Thursday’s heats, slowed to 2min 19.33sec, although bear in mind that her effort still ranks as the third-fastest swim in history. "Obviously we need finances to support a lot of people and I know especially in swimming it didn't come very easily, I'm very blessed that people were so giving and wanted to support me so I would just love to share that support to other people.”Īlready, with the help of Schoenmaker's initiative, more swimmers in South Africa who have the potential to make a big splash, have been granted an opportunity to nurture their talents and make waves globally in the near future.Tatjana Schoenmaker’s rivals narrowed the gap on her in the 200m breaststroke semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday morning, but the South Africa star still takes more than a second’s advantage into Friday’s final. It actually motivated us to start immediately because it is something that I have had in my heart for so long, but being blessed with that amount of money just made it start so much quicker," she said. ![]() "Ultimately, it started or became a reality through all the money that we were able to get and was blessed with the crowdfunding, and that just really boosted us. The amount raised, combined with $40,000 from the sport’s governing body, inspired the swimmer to put the funds to good use by assisting those who did not have the financial means to travel to meets and test themselves against swimmers from around the world. It all began when property developers Atterbury Property and sports nutrition company USN launched a crowd-funding initiative for Schoenmaker and surfing silver medallist Bianca Buitendag after the Olympics. "I always felt like I wanted to give back, I think swimming is also not a very well-known sport, so I am not just targeting swimming but I'd love to just make a difference in someone's life, let someone be able to achieve their dreams," she said. The 24-year-old South African who stormed to fame at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning Gold in the 200m breaststroke and Silver in the 100m breaststroke, is looking to use her glory to inspire her country’s young generation of swimmers. Tatjana Schoenmaker, the current Women's 200m Breaststroke world record holder, is looking to leave a mark beyond the pool. ![]()
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