Paris Olympics, Day 5 Prelims: Tatjana Smith Opens Defense of 200 Breaststroke Title in Fine Form

Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker) of South Africa competes in the 200m Breaststroke Women Final during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 28th, 2023.

Paris Olympics, Day 5 Prelims: Tatjana Smith Opens Defense of 200 Breaststroke Title in Fine Form

The last time Tatjana Smith contested the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympic Games, the South African captured the gold medal in Tokyo, complementing an earlier silver medal in the 100 breaststroke. Now, Smith (née Schoenmaker) is looking for a sweep, having already secured victory in the 100 breaststroke at the Paris Games.

The 27-year-old Smith got off to a strong start in her title defense, as she opened the Day Five preliminaries with a time of 2:21.57. Known for her aggressive approach regardless of the round, Smith didn’t hold much back in her fourth race of the Games, and the result was a top-seeded performance for the evening semifinals. Smith entered action with the top time in the world for 2024, a 2:19.01 from April.

World Record: Evgeniia Chikunova, Russia – 2:17.55 (2023)
Olympic Record: Tatjana Smith, South Africa – 2:18.95 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic Champion: Tatjana Smith, South Africa – 2:18.95

The Netherlands’ Tes Schouten looked smooth en route to a win in her prelim, which she covered in 2:23.08. Schouten has been one of the event’s most consistent performers over the past couple of years. After winning a bronze medal in the 200 breast at the 2022 World Short Course Championships, Schouten was the bronze medalist at the 2023 World Champs in Fukuoka. Earlier this year, she moved up to gold at the Doha edition of the World Champs.

American Kate Douglass advanced to the semifinals as the third seed, off a mark of 2:23.44 in the last of the morning heats. Douglass was competing for the first time since leading off the American women’s 400 freestyle relay, having pulled out of the 100 free individual race to focus on the 200 breast and 200 IM.

“I did that double, the 100 free (and) 200 breast Trials, and I honestly just didn’t want to do it again. I felt like it took a lot out of me. I really love the 200 breast, so I decided to focus on that,” Douglass said. “I’ve gotten pretty antsy just sitting around, so I was excited to race this morning. 200 breaststroke prelims is always pretty chill, at least for me, so I feel like that was a great morning swim.”

Douglass was joined in sub-2:24 territory by China’s Ye Shiwen, the 2012 Olympic champ in the 200 individual medley, and Japan’s Satomi Suzuki. Ye clocked in at 2:23.67, with Suzuki going 2:23.80. South Africa’s Kaylene Corbett (2:23.85) and Ireland’s Mona McSharry (2:23.98) checked in as the sixth- and seventh-place finishers. McSharry is coming off a bronze medal in the 100 breaststroke.

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