Team South Africa lined up outside fellow Olympian and now gold medalist Tatjana Schoenmaker hotel to give her a proudly South African welcome.
Tokyo, Japan (02 August 2021) – In a gripping finale at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre on the 30th of July 2021, Tatjana Schoenmaker won gold and set a new world record in the 200-meter breaststroke. Her return to the Olympic village after the race is a heartwarming one.
Tatjana took to the pool in the finals after completing her semi-final swim with a time of 2:19.33. In the final, she pushed and won the gold medal with a new world record time of 2:18.95.
Her excitement at winning and her subsequent surprise at setting the new world record had us in floods of tears. We can still hear her shout out with glee as she saw her new time.
Later that evening, Tatjana went back to the Olympic village where Team South Africa is being housed and was given a proudly South African welcome. The entire Team SA group was there singing “Shosholoza!”. The moment was caught on camera and has left many South Africans feeling proud and warmed by the welcome.
Tatjana may be on her way back to South Africa already, but there are still many more opportunities for greatness by Team South Africa. Don’t miss them in action. Everything you need to know about the Olympics, including scheduling, can be found here.
Take a look at the heartwarming welcome Tatjana received from Team SA below.
This is what @TRSchoenmaker came home (Team SA Olympic Village) to. I absolutely love being South African 😭🇿🇦❤️#TeamSA #Olympics pic.twitter.com/YW9FBdcAAB
— Maphuti Hlako🇿🇦 (@maphuti_africa) July 30, 2021