Paris 2024 Olympics: Tatjana Smith names her four sporting heroes
Tatjana Smith will emulate an iconic record of her hero Penny Heyns if she claims gold in the 200m breaststroke at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Tatjana Smith names a quartet of sporting heroes
Among them, Tatjana’s four sporting heroes have collected a mind-blowing 34 gold medals at the Olympics.
1996 South African Olympic legend Penny Heyns
South Africa’s first post-Apartheid Olympic gold medallist. It makes sense that Smith would look up to somebody who set the standard in the breaststroke event. Heyns made history at Atlanta in 1996, winning the 100m and 200m events. Also, she was the youngest member of Team SA at Barcelona 1992.
Chad le Clos
At London 2012, Le Clos memorably beat Michael Phelps at the wall to claim gold in the 200m butterfly event. He also collected three silvers across the 2012 and 2016 games. Not many athletes in history know the feeling of beating the ‘Baltimore Bullet’ in a swimming race.
Michael Phelps
A dominant force in the pool, many argue Phelps is the greatest olympian of all time. It’s difficult to argue against that; the American is the most decorated Olympian in history with an astonishing tally of 28 medals. 23 of those were gold.
Usain Bolt
One of the most electrifying performers across any sporting code, Jamaican GOAT Usain Bolt changed the game of sprinting and it’ll never be the same. Standing 1.95m tall, many pundits thought Bolt was too tall to be a sprinter but he made a mockery of those claims, becoming the greatest quick man the world has ever seen and entertaining millions along the way. Like Tatjana Smith, he was never the fastest starter but it’s all about how you finish. Bolt crossed the line first in eight Olympic sprint finals, including an unprecedented triple-double in the 100m and 200m events across three consecutive games in Beijing, London and Rio. Will we ever see someone like him again?
Sprint legend Usain Bolt said he could have emerged from retirement to win a fourth straight Olympic 100m title in Tokyo. Photo: Nicolas Asfouri / AFP
Titanic Tatjana eyes history at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Smith stands to become only the second swimmer in history after Heyns to complete the 100m and 200m breaststroke golden double at the Olympics. Amazingly, she wasn’t even born yet when Heyns accomplished the feat. The 27-year-old will contest the 100m breaststroke final on Thursday 01 August at 21:04 alongside compatriot Kaylene Corbett. You know that Nando’s will be watching. Smith won this event in Tokyo with a time of 2.18.95, a world record which has since been eclipsed by Russian Evgeniia Chikunova in 2023 with a time of 2.17.55. Will she take her record back?
Team South Africa will be represented by 138 athletes at Paris 2024 in the country’s 21st appearance at the Olympic Games. Image: Anton Geyser / Team SA
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