Tatjana Smith made a lot of time to pose for selfies for the crowd, many of them schoolchildren, who gathered at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday to catch a glimpse of the swimming hero who caught the country's imagination with her Paris Olympics medals.
She wore an easy smile that belied an inner anxiety that she also showed a glimpse of when, starting her press conference, the 27-year-old joked of her hoarseness: “Sorry for my voice but this is probably what it means to carry the country on your back.”
Smith, when she was still Schoenmaker, became a major South Africa sports star when she won gold in world record time in the 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, and silver in the 100m. She put herself on another level of public adoration, becoming South Africa's most successful Olympian with gold in the breaststroke 100m and silver in the 200m in Paris.
She announced her retirement directly after the second of those finals in the Paris La Defense Arena pool on August 1.
Elite athletes who call it quits usually need time to recoup after the intensity of a daily training regimen that for Smith lasted 20-plus years. She seemed a little overwhelmed by some of the questions about what the immediate future holds and what she can do for grassroots swimming, especially in previously disadvantaged areas, now she's done racing competitively.
Aware of the stature brought by iconic sports achievement, brought home by the reception she'd received minutes earlier, Smith answered carefully and with poise.
She admitted, speaking on the sidelines of the press briefing, she will always second-guess the decision to retire, just as she would have if she'd kept to her stated plan of making the world short-course championships at the end of the year her swansong.
"[It’s about] having a support system to remind you that you did have peace [in the decision]. I think if I didn't retire I would still have thought of, 'what if I did retire?' There will always be the what ifs. It's just about managing them and being content and trusting in the process,” she said.
Smith now joins some of the doyennes of her sport who served as her inspiration — such as Atlanta 1996 double gold-winning Penny Heyns — on the sidelines. She knows all too well the effect for South Africa of having iconic swimmers for the continued success of the country's second-most successful Olympic medal-winning discipline after athletics.
I think there are definitely conversations to come and we have to take action. We always say things and my heart and dream is to get pools in less fortunate areas — that's why I started my foundation
— Tatjana Smith
“It's super important because I think South Africans underestimate how good we are. I think when we're in those spaces of being among the Americans and so on, we immediately think we're not good enough or we don't have the facilities.
“Everyone in every sport — let's say the Boks and us going to the Olympics — is about proving we don't have to feel like that when we walk into a room. We don't have to feel scared or we don't deserve the position and to be at the table.
“We performed our way to get there, so it's just like showing them [young South Africans] we don't have to have this mindset of 'we're inferior to them'. We are at the same level. If we can achieve the things we do with what we have now, imagine what we could if we had the facilities and whatever else they have.”
Smith is also aware it is all very well inspiring young South Africans, but if facilities in this country are sparse compared to the economic superpowers, they are almost non-existent for most of the country from disadvantaged backgrounds.
She would like, now that she has retired, to be involved in projects, perhaps with other former swimming personalities, helping to find funds to build pools in townships and at previously disadvantaged schools. She also points out former athletes can do only so much and ultimately their responsibility goes so far.
“That's a hard question because there are a lot of conversations that need to take place to make that happen,” she said, asked what she and perhaps other retired swimming legends can do.
“There are so many conversations happening but there's no action. I think that's what it's going to come down to and I'm fortunate enough to be in a place where I can hopefully use my voice as an athlete and offer the experience I have. Because we've gone through it so we understand and can give our feedback.
“I think there are definitely conversations to come and we have to take action. We always say things and my heart and dream is to get pools in less fortunate areas — that's why I started my foundation.
“If I don't have financial backing, I can't do it by myself. You can't expect the sports people to carry the hopes and inspiration of the whole country. It's exhausting — we're not made to do it.
“We're there to give hope and ignite some hope. We have to work together to make a difference. We can't expect one person to make a difference because I'm going to be like a little crumb in the basket.
“So it's really about can we all come together and have conversations where we are all at the table. Not making decisions based on people who have no experience in swimming. So ja, maybe — I'm hoping there are good conversations.”
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