Tatjana Smith: From Olympic glory to championing mental health in sports
Tatjana Smith, South Africa’s most decorated Olympian with two golds and two silvers, transitions from competitive swimming to championing mental health in sports, recently winning Sportswoman of the Year and Sport Star of the Year at the SA Sport Awards. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL Sport
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL Sport
When I interviewed Tatjana Smith a couple of weeks after the Paris Olympics last year, I was struck by her humility.
Here was South Africa’s most decorated Olympian with her two golds and two silvers across the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, and beginning the next part of her journey after announcing her retirement from competitive swimming, and yet she gave her time to the crowd of fans and media for an event to discuss her exploits.
After a panel discussion, she patiently fielded questions from eager journalists in the scheduled one-on-one time.
This went on for over two hours, and by the end of it her smile remained as she did not refuse a single one of the fans that came up for selfies or quick chat.
SA’s Most Decorated Olympian: Smith Reflects on Unintended Achievements
In that interview, I asked the 27-year-old what it meant to be referred to as SA’s most decorated Olympian.
“It’s so strange. It doesn’t sound like it should be in the same sentence. It’s never been the goal,” said Smith.
“I’ve never tried to go for certain achievements. It was always being the best version of myself, and challenging myself. That was the ultimate goal, and I’ve achieved more than that. It’s still something to get used to.”
Smith’s Journey to Olympic Success: Embracing Growth and Character Building
Before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Smith had claimed double gold in her favoured 100m and 200m breaststroke events at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Though Smith had always aimed to reach her full potential, she had never solely focussed on winning Olympic medals.
“It was just about setting those smaller goals. We know that not everyone is going to reach the gold medal. Not everyone is going to reach the Olympics. It’s not giving up on that and allowing it to motivate you, but not define you.
“It’s all the things you have to face on the journey that are character-building that I really valued about swimming the most. I pushed myself to do it because I knew there was so much for me to grow to be the best version of myself. We will never reach that point. But to allow that journey of swimming to help me for the best version was amazing.”
Smith Wins Sportswoman of the Year and Sport Star of the Year at SA Sport Awards
Over the weekend, Smith also won the Sportswoman of the Year and Sport Star of the Year at the SA Sport Awards.
It was a fitting way to both cap and reminisce about Smith’s unmatched career.
Though her competitive days are over, Smith is also currently part of an important campaign with Powerade. Smith is one of the faces behind the sports drink’s ‘Respect the Pause’ campaign. It pushes for athletes to be able to have a clause in their contract that they can take a mental health break and not have their sponsorships or finances affected.
Now aged 28, Smith still has her whole life ahead of her and if her sporting career is anything to go by, she’s probably not even close to reaching her potential.