Tatjana Schoenmaker Named African Female Swimmer of the Year (Full Voting)
The only person surprised by what Tatjana Schoenmaker can accomplish in the pool remains Tatjana Schoenmaker.
She is an Olympic gold medalist. She has held a world record and all three African breaststroke records, two of which remain. In 2023, she added a world title to her voluminous list of accomplishments. And yet, the South African manages to evince genuine surprise at what she is able to achieve.
Take this reaction when Schoenmaker won the 200 breast at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka last summer: “I think it was unexpected. I think that’s why there was so much emotion. Coming into this meet, I wasn’t really ranked in the top three in any of my events. My times haven’t been as great since the Olympics. That was OK, and I just wanted to pitch up and not be scared to take on the opportunity to race some of these girls.”
The glimmers of what one might call doubt stem from an honesty about her performance and a willingness to be vulnerable to them. Where other swimmers concoct imaginary doubters, Schoenmaker instead leans into her own, very real doubt. Acknowledging it allows her to overcome it.
And so, you have Schoenmaker doing last summer just what she did at the Tokyo Olympics, winning a gold medal in the 200 breast and silver in the 100 breast. It comes after Schoenmaker made the difficult decision in 2022 to skip the World Championships in Budapest, not believing she was ready—physically or emotionally—after the hangover of the Tokyo Games.
Being Tatjana Schoenmaker—that is, still one of the world’s preeminent breaststroke—she instead went to the Commonwealth Games, where she won gold in the 200 and silver in the 100. The latter came behind countrywoman Lara Van Niekerk. The former was a half-second quicker than what Lilly King went in winning gold in Budapest.
“I think going into Commonwealths, to be honest, my coach and I both knew I wasn’t ready with just the mental state I was in,” Schoenmaker said. “My results there were just a bonus. I wasn’t really ready, so I think it was a good decision that we decided not to go to World Champs.”
At 26, Schoenmaker is acutely aware of the field around her. She knows how fast Van Niekerk, who took her continental record in the 50 breast, is. She watched Ruta Meilutyte’s renaissance for two gold medals in Fukuoka. She saw Evgeniia Chikunova erase her world record in the spring while competing outside the global community, with Russia still banned and the uncertainty that inflicts on Paris. She understands the depth of the U.S. program, led by King, Lydia Jacoby and now Kate Douglass. She grasps her specialty over the longer distance while others like Meilutyte are more at home in the 100.
She also wears her crown as Olympic champion more visibly than most. It’s not with ostentation, but in internalizing the pressure that accolade brought. Those expectations—of Schoenmaker being concerned that she was not able to swim like the Olympic champion in Budapest last summer—weigh on her.
But as Paris nears, she’s proven time and again that whatever the mental cost, she continues to perform in a way that epitomizes that gold medal spirit she has earned. Most recently, she clocked 2:20-low in the 200 breaststroke, a statement of sorts entering the Olympic year.
“I think it’s really managing this,” she said. “In these two years, it gave me time to work through those emotions. Sometimes I stand behind the block or in the call room and I think, ‘Why do I put myself through this mental battle?’ It’s so draining. It’s a lot of character building, and I think you surprise yourself of how much you can handle.”
TOP 5 AFRICAN (Women)
- TATJANA SCHOENMAKER, South Africa (12)…………………………………………………………… 60
- Lara van Niekerk, South Africa………………… 47
- Farida Osman, Egypt……………………………….. 37
- Erin Gallagher, South Africa……………………. 21
- Kaylene Corbett, South Africa………………….. 15
(First-place votes in parentheses)