Fun fact: when Olympic swimmer Tatjana Smith began swimming, she didn’t like it all that much. It was only after she started attending a sports school in grade nine and started being noticed as a fast swimmer that the bug bit. “I think you like something when you’re good at it,” says the Olympic gold medallist and record breaker. “And I realized that I had talents in swimming and I enjoyed being part of Team South Africa.”
From there, Tatjana excelled. In 2018, she competed in the Commonwealth Games, winning gold medals in the women’s 100-metre breaststroke as well as the 200m breaststroke – no easy feat. She’s set numerous international and national records, won gold at the 2020 Olympics and is paving the way for more female swimmers to make their mark on the international stage. Through it all, the Under Armour athlete remains humble as she sets her sights on bagging more medals. Here, she chats lessons hard learned, how she mentally prepares for meets and her thoughts on her second Olympics appearance.
Stack Your Lessons
For Tatjana, her achievements, while hard-won, are a reflection of the lessons learned through the sport: perseverance, hard work and consistency. “It’s the person it’s created me to be and the characteristics it shaped in me,” she says. “I think for me it highlights so much more than just the achievements. At the end of the day, all those things fall away, but it’s who you are that you want to be remembered for that I find as a highlight.”
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Embrace The Ups And Downs
@supersportofficial 𝟐:𝟏𝟗:𝟎𝟏 🤯 oh, nothing much, just Tatjana Smith clocking the 3rd fastest time recorded in history 🏊♀️ #Swimming #TatjanaSmith #200m #Breaststroke #Paris2024 ♬ original sound – SuperSportTV
A helpful philosophy the athlete embraces? The highs and lows are all part of life. “When you’re looking at heartbeats on the heart rate monitor, it goes up, down, up, down. And that means you’re alive,” she says. “So if life goes up, down and up, down, that’s exactly what life is. Because if it was just a straight line, you would just be dead.”
It’s this attitude that shapes her approach to life in competitive sports. The willingness to embrace the highs with the lows and take it all in stride is what Tatjana lives for. After the 2020 Olympics, the highs of winning drained her energy and she felt low for a while. “It was just a season that I was going through and I never gave up or I never felt like it was too much,” she says. “I always believe that there is light on the other side and I have to actively make decisions that will help me get there.”
Keeping The Faith
Tatjana’s faith helps keep her centred. Before every race, she listens to worship music. “Listening to worship music really just reminds me why I’m swimming and keeps me calm and reminds me that I know I’m gonna go out there and give my best,” she says. “It doesn’t really matter what the outcome is, as long as I’m giving my best, I’m glorifying and honouring God.” Surrendering to the unknown can be a powerful tool to hone into yourself and remember that not everything is in your control. To Tatjana, being mindful of this is a game-changer.
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Staying Appreciative
Now that Tatjana is heading toward her second round at the Olympics, she’s more appreciative. There’s a different athlete heading to the Games than the 2020 version, and this one is looking ahead in wonder. “You see different things and you notice and appreciate different things than you did the first time,” she says. “I think that’s the thing I’m looking most forward to is just taking all those experiences in and really enjoying it.”
Tatjana Smith will be competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Follow her journey on Instagram here.
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Michelle October
Michelle is the features editor at WH. She’s immensely curious about the world, passionate about health and wellness and enjoys a good surf when the waves are good. Find her on Instagram here.