SA's Tatjana Smith earns her spot in the 100m final at Paris 2024 ...

South Africa’s Golden Girl, Tatjana Smith, has secured her place in the 100m breaststroke final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) is a strong contender for the gold medal.

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Tatjana Smith entered the 2024 Olympics with high expectations, having won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke and a gold medal in the 200m breaststroke at Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris La Defense Arena on Sunday, she delivered two show-stopping wins in both her heat and semi-final races.

Smith claimed first place with identical times of 1:05.00 in both races – a remarkable show of consistency and exceptional form.

The feat places SA’s Golden Girl as a top contender for the gold medal in the final on Monday night, reports Team SA.

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China’s Qianting Tang, who led the world rankings with a time of 1:04.39 before the Olympics, won the first semi-final with a time of 1:05.83, placing her fourth overall heading into the final. Mona McSharry and Lily King are tough contenders too, with times of 1:05.51 and 1:05.64 respectively.

Smith has grown in leaps and bounds, striking from one success to another since her debut at Tokyo 2020, where she became the first South African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming since 1996.

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Tatjana Schoenmaker swims her way to Olympics: ‘On my way to Paris’

Feature Image: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images