Cape Argus E-dition

It doesn’t feel real, says golden girl Tatjana

ASHFAK MOHAMED

THE 200m breaststroke final was an intense affair, but new Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker says she still had time to have a look at her American rival, Lilly King, just after they reached the 150m mark at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre yesterday.

Up to that point, they were slugging it out stroke for stroke. King – the world record-holder in the 100m breaststroke – tried to put the South African star off her game by motoring through the first few laps.

King was on world-record pace herself, nearly half-a-second ahead of Schoenmaker after 50m, and staying in front after the halfway mark.

The 24-year-old from Pretoria, though, caught up at the 150m point, and that’s where they had a stare-off – or probably a smile from the always-giggling and friendly South African.

“It doesn’t feel real. I was obviously very focused on my own race, and I just wanted to get as close to my times as possible. But I knew, even if it didn’t happen, I would be happy with my times that I’ve swum,” Schoenmaker said yesterday on a video call with Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa, which he posted to his Twitter account.

“But then we had that other girl (King) from the outside lane going really fast, and at the last turn, we both looked at each other under water!

“We were like, ‘Okay, now is the last 50 (metres) and we have to give it everything’. Just before I touched the wall, I saw I was in front. So, that’s why I didn’t even look back to the board yet, because I knew I had won. It was so amazing.”

The world-record time of two minutes 18.95 seconds (2:18.95) was the first time any swimmer had gone sub-2:19, and Schoenmaker had followed in the footsteps of Penny Heyns, who won the 200m gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

But Schoenmaker initially didn’t even realise that she had produced the quickest time in history, having surpassed the 2:19.11 set by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen in 2013.

“Then, looking at the times, the first time I looked at the board I saw 2:19, and I was like, ‘Oh, yes, I got on to my time’, and I am very happy with that. And then, you could obviously see my reaction when I looked again! I realised, ‘Oh wait, that wasn’t my time’, so, very happy,” she said.

“To be honest, if I could just make the final – that was what I’ve said since I started coming through – to make the final is already an amazing achievement. I was lucky to have my teammate (Kaylene Corbett) there. We were all like twotwo – two Americans, two British, two South Africans. So, it was just amazing to have that teammate there.

“I would’ve never even thought … This is my first Olympics, so for me to get a lane into the final – then everyone stands a chance. So, that’s the thing I’ve always believed in.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in. I’m excited to also go back home and celebrate this with my family. I don’t wish my Olympic dream over, but I am really excited to just go and celebrate, even being at the Olympics, with my parents.”

Heyns said in a TV interview with SABC Sport from Tokyo that Schoenmaker would have felt the pressure from having missed out on the 100m gold, but that she had shown her class to win the 200m title.

“I think there is a great sense of release. They can say they don’t feel the pressure, but after that awesome performance in the 100m breaststroke – breaking the Olympic record – Tatjana definitely was the one everybody was watching,” Heyns said.

“I did have a brief word with her, and she was very relieved and over the moon. She didn’t really have much words, because the emotion is still too strong. “It does take a while to sink in – for some, it takes a few months, and for some, it takes 25 years. I think for Tatjana, it is going to take a while before she really realises what she’s achieved at these Games.”

Team South Africa have secured three medals so far, and will hope that the athletics squad can win a few more over the next week. Akani Simbine will start his campaign in the 100m today, and so will Ruswahl Samaai in the long jump.

Then, Wayde van Niekerk begins the defence of his 400m title tomorrow.

SPORT

en-za

2021-07-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281818581871108

African News Agency