‘It’s not easy to be defending Olympic champion,’ says Tatjana Smith

Tatjana Smith, looking relaxed and full of smiles, on Wednesday admitted being the defending Olympic 200m breaststroke champion has its challenges but she is dealing with them.

She is bidding to become the first South African Olympic champion to retain their spot atop the podium in real time at Paris 2024.

In a video released by Team South Africa from the Athletes’ Village, she smiled throughout and frequently laughed while answering questions, exuding a calmness that suggests she is ready for the gala ahead.

“It’s not easy,” she said. “It’s a daily thing that you have to tell yourself you’re not swimming for others’ expectations. Sometimes my expectations are higher than those.

“It’s really just coming back to it and for me just trusting in God and knowing his plan will work out ... that I can just prepare as well as I can.”

The 27-year-old said she couldn’t expect everything to work out perfectly. “It’s about how we react to it and how we see it and how positive we stay in those situations that counts. I know it’s going to go well and I’m preparing well.”

Smith will race the 100m breaststroke heats and the semifinals on Sunday before doing the final on Monday night. The 200m breaststroke heats and semifinals are scheduled for next Wednesday with the final on August 1.

Smith, who also won the 100m breaststroke silver in Tokyo three years ago, said her training had not changed much in the past three years.

“I don’t think [there’s] much difference,” she said. “Just perfecting all the small things — swimming is a technical sport. It’s those small margins that count, so physically we can’t do much more,” she added, saying finessing the finer details was character-building.

“You’re growing as a person and I’m getting older. That was a huge difference,” she added. 

Smith pointed out she enjoyed using the 100m race to gauge herself before her premier 200m event.

“The 100m is nice to have as a pre-race for the 200m. Sometimes I start enjoying it too much and then I get nervous whether I’m going to survive in the 200m.

“It is always good to see where I am and have the speed in the beginning to know for the 200m.”

Smith said she was enjoying life having got married late last year. “I love it, I’m still getting used to seeing a short surname on my caps.

“I’m embracing it and I love that part of life, and it makes you realise swimming is just a season and there’s different seasons. I’m already enjoying another season with my swimming.”