GOLD! Tatjana Schoenmaker breaks world record for Team SA’s first Tokyo Olympics gold medal

South African swimming sensation Tatjana Schoenmaker broke the 200m breaststroke world record en-route to winning team South Africa’s first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Friday morning. 

Schoenmaker becomes first individual record breaker at Games

After she powered through to her gold medal, Schoenmaker not only set a new world record, but also became the first individual swimmer at the Tokyo Olympics to capture a world record in a time of 2:18.95.

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Schoenmaker’s time betters that of previous record holder Rikke Moller Pedersen of Denmark who set the previous record eight years ago when she finished in a time of 2:19.11 at the 2013 World Swimming Championships. This was the 24-year old’s second medal of the Tokyo Olympic Games, having earned a silver medal in the 100 breast, losing out to American teenage sensation Lydia Jacoby.

King led the field at the halfway mark

This time Schoenmaker made sure it would be South African delight at the summit of the podium, making sure that it would be the turn of American to suffer the disappointment of missing out on celebrating a gold medal. Her win meant she managed to keep out the American duo of Lily King and Annie Lazor who completed the podium in second and third with King earning her second medal of the Games as well, after finishing third behind the Tuks athlete to earn a bronze medal in the 100m breast.

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In fact, it was the experienced King who came out of the blocks firing in this race as she led the field at the halfway mark with a time of 1:06.47 but Schoenmaker then swiftly began making up the ground on her beating King’s 1:13:45 with her 1:11.89 for the second and decisive 100m.

Schoenmaker was not the only South African in the race with Bloemfontein-born Kaylene Corbett finishing fifth in a time of 2:22.06