Making Every Lap Count Swimming sensation Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa’s star at the Tokyo Olympics who won recordbreaking gold in the 200m breaststroke, is constantly challenging herself for the next milestone, she says in an exclusive interview with FORBES AFRICA. BY NICK SAID
88 | FORBES AFRICA DECEMBER 2021 | JANUARY 2022
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OUTH AFRICAN SENSATION TATJANA Schoenmaker dreamed of a career in netball and was at first resistant to professional swimming, but after winning Olympic Gold in the 200m breaststroke in a world record time, has proven the old adage that you should always listen to your parents. Schoenmaker was one of Africa’s stars at the Tokyo Olympics this year as she swept to gold in a record time of 2:18.95, having also claimed silver in the 100m breaststroke as she came within a milli-second of a remarkable double. It has cemented the 24-year-old’s place among South Africa’s swimming greats, but if her teenage self had her own way, Schoenmaker would not have been in Tokyo to make her mark in history. “I did many other sports in primary school.
I liked hockey, netball and athletics, so at that age I think the push for swimming came from my parents’ side. They saw I had talent,” she tells FORBES AFRICA. “I was actually against it in the beginning, I was never for it. But when I moved to Tuks Sport High School, and more of my time went into swimming, I started improving. That’s when I started to realize that I’m good at it. “It was certainly not a passion for me, definitely not. I loved netball and my mind
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