South Africa’s Tatjana Smith clinched Africa’s first gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday.
The 27-year-old swimmer won the women’s 100-metre breaststroke event with a late surge in a thrilling battle.
Smith, a gold medallist in the 200m breaststroke in Tokyo 2020, triumphed with a time of 1:05.28 ahead of China’s Tang Qianting, who got the silver medal in 1:05.54, while Ireland’s Mona McSharry settled for bronze.
An unforgettable feeling 🥇
Laureus Ambassador Tatjana Smith wins gold in the 100m breaststroke and it's @OfficialTeamRSA's first gold medal at #Paris2024 🎉#Olympics | @Laureus_sa pic.twitter.com/5JdDa0QQob
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) July 29, 2024
Although the winning time was slower than the 1:05.00 she clocked during the heats, it was enough to get her the win, making her the favourite to defend the 200-metre breaststroke title she won three years ago.
Smith’s triumph took South Africa’s medal haul in Paris to three with one gold and two bronze medals, as they currently share the twelfth position on the medal table with Kazakhstan.
