Tatjana Smith advances to women’s 100m breaststroke semi-finals at Paris Olympics

by Staff Bona

South African swimmer Tatjana Smith won the heat 4 in the women’s 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.00 at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, qualifying for the semi-finals.

With the first race over, Smith stated that she was ‘happy she was able to put on a good performance’, as reported by IOL.

‘In the first race, you just want to get into the water, get the feel of racing,’ said Tatjana.

‘Obviously it’s not as easy as you have to try and qualify for the semis,’ she added.

In 2021, the Tokyo Olympics were held as the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing, meaning there were ‘very few spectators’ in the crowds during the various games.

So, it was natural that Smith enjoyed ‘competing in front of fans’ this year in Paris.

‘I’m very happy with that. It was so nice to have a crowd, compared to Tokyo, so, it’s a lot of new things that are happening, but I’m just taking in the experience as we go,’ said Tatjana.

Tatjana said that she hopes to advance to the final, when she competes in the semi-finals on Monday, 29 July, going head-to-head with Lilly King, the current world record holder in the women’s 100m breaststroke.

The semi-finals are scheduled to take place at 8.57 pm, on Monday evening.

First published on Cape Town ETC

Compiled by Jan-Hendrik De Villiers

Also see: Wayde Van Niekerk to focus on 200m in Paris Olympics