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| Tatjana
SCHOENMAKER |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
South Africa
|
| Gender | Women |
| Born | 09 Jul 1997
in Johannesburg, RSA |
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Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Tuks Swimming: Pretoria, RSA |
Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Finance - University of Pretoria: South Africa |
General Interest |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning two gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (speedo.co.za, 01 Jan 2021) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
She began swimming for water safety reasons, and her talent for the sport was quickly recognised. "My love for swimming makes me want to get up every morning and go to training. It's like my second home. Being fortunate enough to travel the world doing what I love, seeing new places and meeting new people and sports heroes, motivates me a lot. The most important thing every young swimmer should realise is that nothing is impossible. They only need to believe and be prepared to put in the long and hard hours." |
General Interest |
Hero / Idol |
South African swimmers Penelope Heyns and Chad le Clos, US swimmer Michael Phelps, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. (thislifeonline.co.za, 30 Oct 2019) |
Awards and honours |
In 2021 she received Swimming World magazine's Female World Record of the Year award, which recognised her performance in the 200m breaststroke final at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She was also named Swimming World's 2021 African Female Swimmer of the Year. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 29 Dec 2021, 26 Dec 2021)
She was named African Female Swimmer of the Year by swimming website SwimSwam in its 2019, 2020 and 2021 Swammy Awards. (swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2021, 15 Dec 2020, 26 Dec 2019)
In 2019 she was named Sports Star of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year at the South African Sport Awards. (swimswam.com, 12 Nov 2019)
She was named Newcomer of the Year at the 2018 South African Sport Awards. (thislifeonline.co.za, 30 Oct 2019) |
Milestones |
She became the first female South African swimmer to win a medal at the world championships, when she claimed silver in the 200m breaststroke at the 2019 edition of the tournament in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 25 Sep 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 18 Nov 2020) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Rocco Meiring [club], RSA; Graham Hill [national], RSA |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began swimming at age five and started competing at age eight. She initially combined swimming with other sports, but began to focus on swimming towards the end of high school. "I had my first competition at age eight and won the 25m butterfly, from there my parents decided that swimming was for me and that I had a talent for it." |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Focus on one's own improvement and own goals rather than comparing oneself to others. If you're constantly improving, you'll eventually get to the top. For me it was always about improving my time." (media.ford.com, 14 Aug 2020) |
Hobbies |
Spending time with friends and family. (speedo.co.za, 01 Jan 2021) |
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs |
"I have a bit of a ritual where I just jump a bit and do quite a high jump touching my toes, twisting my back a little, the usual swimmer slapping routine." (vssports.co.za, 22 Jun 2020) |
Famous relatives |
Her partner Ruan Ras has represented South Africa in swimming at World Cup events. (Instagram profile, 14 Feb 2021; Ruan Ras Instagram profile, 25 Apr 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 11 May 2021) |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Partner Ruan Ras |
General Interest |
Other information |
FOUNDATION
In 2021 she launched the Tatjana Foundation. She said the foundation would aim to improve access to water safety and swimming lessons in South Africa. "I think for now it'll be paying for the swimming lessons and stuff like that. At the beginning, I won't be as involved physically because I'm still swimming and I have a career. But that's why I want to get it started now so I can already make a difference. Then when I'm done with swimming, I'll be able to be all hands on deck and really be part of it. Not to just be the face in the background but to be there and help them as well." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 27 Oct 2021; tatjanaschoenmaker.com, 01 Sep 2021) |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 2 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:05.22 |
| 1 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
200m Breaststroke |
2:18.95 |
| 14 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
4:03.02 |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| Heats |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
50m Breaststroke |
30.70 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
200m Breaststroke |
2:20.80 |
| 2 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:05.84 |
| 2 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
200m Breaststroke |
2:22.52 |
| Heats |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
50m Breaststroke |
31.40 |
| 6 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.60 |
| Heats |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
|
| Heats |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
|
World Championships Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Breaststroke |
1:08.62 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
200m Breaststroke |
2:28.25 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Breaststroke |
31.79 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
200m Individual Medley |
2:23.83 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:52.16 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
4:10.52 |
World Cup |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2019 |
Tokyo, JPN |
200m Breaststroke |
2:22.35 |
| 1 |
2019 |
Tokyo, JPN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.54 |
| 40 |
2014 |
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Overall |
|
| 3 |
2014 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:08.07 |
| 5 |
2014 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
200m Individual Medley |
2:18.74 |
| 3 |
2014 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
200m Breaststroke |
2:26.51 |
| 4 |
2014 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
50m Breaststroke |
31.97 |
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