By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa’s Tatjana Smith won the silver medal in the women’s 200m breaststroke final in Paris on Thursday. She was pipped to the wall by Kate Douglass of the United States.
Smith seemed to have the race in the bag as she led in the beginning stages of the last lap, only for Douglass to find an extra gear as she touched the wall in 2:19:24, with Smith just behind in 2:19:60.
She won gold in the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday night. The 27-year-old also won gold in the 200m breaststroke in Tokyo in 2021.
Further back, Kaylene Corbett ended seventh in 2:24.46 and was unable to challenge for the podium in what would have been a historic double for Team SA.
Smith did make history, however, as the first SA woman to secure four career medals at the Games.
She also became the country’s most decorated Olympian of all time. While she equalled the record haul of fellow swimmer Chad le Clos, she holds more gold medals.
Pieter Coetze placed seventh (1:55.60) in the men’s 200m backstroke about half an hour before Smith’s race.
Coetze, who was fifth in the 100m backstroke on Monday, clocked 1:55.60, breaking the 15-year-old African record of 1:55.75 set by George du Rand in Rome in 2009.
The race was won by former world champion Hubert Kos of Hungary in 1:54.36.
Earlier in the pool yesterday, on day six of the Paris Games, Matthew Sates crashed out in the opening round of the men’s 200m individual medley, settling for 21st place overall in 2:04.01.
Sates will line up again this morning, along with four-time Olympic medallist Chad le Clos, in the 100m butterfly heats.
Le Clos will hope to put up a fight in the only event he has entered, in what will be a swansong performance at the quadrennial Games for the 31-year-old star.