Tatjana Smith wins gold in Paris Olympics thriller

Paris — Tatjana Smith claimed SA’s first gold of the Paris Olympics as she powered her way to victory in the 100m breaststroke at La Defense Arena on Monday night. 

It was the country’s second medal of the day and third of the showpiece so far, but this was a medal three years in the making after the South African star had to settle for silver at Tokyo 2020. 

And it so nearly looked as though she might not even make the podium when she touched in fourth place at the halfway mark. 

Forget the politeness and humility that Smith frequently displays in everyday life — in the water she transforms into an apex predator. 

She’s a racer who thrives on competition and she did that in spectacular fashion, hunting down her rivals with a combination of artistry and brutality, picking them off one by one. 

First it was Angharad Evans of Great Britain, then Ireland’s Mona McSharry and finally Tang Qianting of China, the only one in the field to dip under 30 seconds for the first 50 metres. 

Smith won in 1min 05.28sec — slower than the 1:05.00 she had gone in the semifinals and heats — with Tang second in 1:05.54 and McSharry third in 1:05.59. 

The win made her the first South African to win gold medals at consecutive Olympics in real time. And at 27 years and 20 days Smith became the 10th oldest female Olympic champion in an individual event. 

She is SA’s most successful double gold medallist.

With two golds and a silver she eclipses Penny Heyns and tennis player Charles Winslow, who both won two golds and a bronze. 

Another gold on Thursday in the 200m breaststroke, where she’s the defending champion, would make her SA’s most decorated Olympian. 

With her performance in the 100m, it is hard to see her not winning the longer race and joining Heyns as the only woman to have won the breaststroke double at a single Games. 

Pieter Coetzé lowered his African record to 52.58sec as he ended fifth in the men’s 100m backstroke final. 

He was 19-hundredths of a second behind the bronze medallist, Ryan Murphy of the US. 

Italian Thomas Ceccon won in 52.00sec. 

Even so, this result could be a good indicator of a possible medal in the 200m backstroke.

Coetzé’s underwater techniques have improved considerably in the past few months, and if he gets the pacing right in the longer race, he could be dangerous.