See all of our 2024 Swammy Awards here.
Winning this award for the sixth and unless a comeback is already in the works for the last time is South Africa’s Tatjana Smith. The 27 year old South African, who won the award from 2018-2021 and then again last year under her maiden name of Tatjana Schoenmaker, was the clear favorite as she put together one of the best individual programs and earned not only the only swimming medals for her nation but her gold and silver make up one-third of the total medals won by her nation.
Already an Olympic and World Champion in the 200 breaststroke, high expectations were placed upon her, and Smith did not disappoint. After a strong performance at the South African Qualifying meet, where Smith swept the breaststroke events, going 1:05.48 in the 100 and 2:19.01 in the 200, both times which were faster than her performances in Fukuoka, where she won silver in the 100 (1:05.84) and gold in the 200 (2:20.80).
Entering Paris, Smith had more than just an Olympic title to defend as the South African was heavily featured in ad campaigns. In the lead-up to the Games, the official Paris2024 Instagram page (which is now defunct) used clips of her win (and subsequent reaction) along with snippets of the tie for gold in the men’s high jump between Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa, the clip of Misugu Okamoto’s competitors hoisting her onto their shoulders after she fell in the skateboarding park finals and Derek Redmond’s father running out to help him after he tore his hamstring at the Barcelona Games.
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Set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” the Instagram reel, which sadly has been lost to the abyss that is a deleted profile, was the inspiration for the first paragraph of the Olympics Day 9 Finals Live Recap. While that clip might not have reached a broad audience, Coca-Cola’s commercial about Smith and her competitors Lilly King, Annie Lazor, and Kaylene Corbett certainly did.
The 5th seed in the 100 breast, Smith, the defending Olympic silver medalist, proved to be the cream of the crop as the South African blitzed the prelims and semis, recording equal times of 1:05.00. However, in an event with such unpredictability—there hasn’t been a back-to-back winner in over 40 years at the Olympics and at a World Championships since Lilly King won in 2017 and 2019—nothing was going to be easy for Smith.
Tied for 4th at the 50 turn (30.62), Smith used her backhalf speed to surge past 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 gap between her and Tang to win by .26, once again showing the endearing emotional reaction that saw her become beloved by swimming fan across the globe.
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A few days later, as the defending Olympic Champion, Smith entered the 200 breaststroke as the third seed. Similar to the 100, Smith was the best swimmer out of the prelims, swimming 2:21.57, and improved in the semis, dropping a 2:19.94, albeit being passed by the American Kate Douglass, who would have the top seed with a time of 2:19.74. The pair, the only two under 2:22 in the semis, had a two-swimmer duel in the final. Smith was out fastest, opposite her 100 strategy, but Douglass had passed her by the 100 turn and never looked back, taking the win in 2:19.24, with Smith settling for the silver in 2:19.60, a little off her Olympic Record of 2:18.95 from Tokyo.
While her Olympic Record will stand for at least another four years, Smith’s legacy will last much longer than that. After collecting a gold and silver medal in Paris, Smith became South Africa’s most decorated Olympian in history, equalling fellow swimmer Chad le Clos’s medal count, but with her two golds outweighing his one. Before being announced as her nation’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony, Smith announced her retirement.
Smith’s legacy expands further than her medals as well, and she spearheaded a revitalization of women’s swimming in South Africa as the likes of Aimee Canny, Erin Gallagher, and Rebecca Meder look to pick up the reigns. While four Olympic medals will be hard to replace, South Africa is not without breaststrokw talent as Lara Van Niekerk and Kaylene Corbett have plenty of international experience. Corbett, who was a part of the 2020 celebration, made the final of the 200 breaststroke again in Paris, finishing in 7th with a time of 2:24.46.
After her retirement, in speaking to SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodges, Smith stated, “didn’t do swimming to become famous…” adding, “I have been blessed with this platform and how can I use this to change things…”. So while she may not be competing anymore, Smith certainly won’t disappear from the sport, and in the face of the adversity that faced South African swimmers (and divers, waterpolo players), Smith certainly ” faced it all, and [she] stood tall, and did it [her] way.” (Apologies to Frank for changing the lyrics to fit the needed pronouns).
Honorable Mentions:
- Farida Osman, Egypt – With sprint events being so short, every detail must be perfect in order to be at one’s best, and Farida Osman is one of the best. The Egyptian National, who competed collegiately at the University of California, displayed remarkable consistency, making her 7th straight finals appearance in the 50 Fly at a Long Course World Championships, just one short of the record held by Federica Pellegrini (8 – 200 free). Osman, a three-time Olympian for Egypt, hit the wall in 25.67 in the final to earn her the bronze medal. While off her African record of 25.38 from 2022, the trip to the podium was the third for Osman, after having also claimed bronze in the event in 2017 and 2019.
- Rebecca Meder, South Africa – The South African women did damage to their national record board (and continental record) with the records being reset in two long course events and five short course events over the past 12 months. Aimee Canny and Erin Gallagher broke the African record in the 200 free and 100 fly, respectively, at their Olympic Qualifying meet, and Gallagher was just .02 away from winning a medal at the 2024 LC Worlds, but Rebecca Meder is getting the edge, for the second honorable mention position. Meder ended the year on a high, making the finals in four events at the Budapest Short Course Worlds, placing 5th in the 200 breast and 6th in the 100 breast, 100 IM, and 200 IM. The time achieved in the latter two events, 57.69 and 2:05.61, are both new National and Continental records. Meder’s year ended well, but nothing was ordinary about the start of it. She was limited to just a 50 back at the National Championships in April after having to undergo an emergency appendectomy three weeks prior, but she still managed to not only compete at the Olympics but also to set a new national record in the 200 IM, placing 11th in the semifinals in Paris, a massive improvement on her 23rd place finish 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
