#WomensMonth: Tatjana Smith, SA's most successful Olympian, "Every month should be Women's Month"

Image by Danette Breitenbach, Bizcommunity. South Africa’s most successful Olympian, Tatjana Smith, with a young fan at the Under Armour store in Sandton

"Instead of every year coming with our notes of what we want to achieve, that are the same as the previous year, we could have Women’s Month every month and then in the 12th month, we should look back and evaluate what we have achieved," she says.

Smith was speaking to the media at the Under Armour store in Sandton and guests on the last day of Women’s Month.

Talking about women and women in sport she says that we have been avoiding challenging conversations.

“Not everyone has brought into the vision of women in sport and that is why it is so difficult. However, someone needs to take charge and make the conscious decision to help women in sports.

Massive gap in swimming

She adds that swimming is a neglected sport in South Africa and this makes it even more difficult for young girls.

“I went to a sports swimming school when I was 14 years old, but I did not want to. I wanted to play netball. My parents had to bribe me with a Blackberry, and only then I agreed to attend the school.”

She explains that 14 is an age when many girls stop swimming and for very clear reasons for this. “At this age your body changes. For many girls this is hard enough to deal with on its own, never mind, to then also have to train and be competitive.”

This is why there is a massive gap in swimming between junior swimmers and the next stage of swimming.

Luckily for South Africa and South African swimming Smith did go into the next stage of competitive swimming.

“Young people are also not always good at seeing into the future, but after not wanting to attend swimming school, I loved it and had an amazing experience.”

Not that it was easy. “I went from training three times to 10 to 11 sessions a week.”

Find your why

To sustain this, she says, achievements are not enough. “When you are young you are driven by your achievements, but later in life you realise that these are not enough to keep your passion alive.”

Your perseverance comes later when you discover what is your new why. Because you need this get up every day in winter early in the morning and go train in an outdoor pool.

“You need to figure out your why because no one wants to get up in the dark and cold to train.”

Smith says she was lucky that she figured out her why early in her swimming career. “My why was that I was blessed with a talent through God, and it allowed me to glorify Him in that space.

Be the best version of you

But she says this does not mean gold. “It is about giving my best and being okay with the results and knowing there is a purpose, whether you win or lose. It is about how you act towards other athletes and how you make people feel in that moment.”

When she won Silver, she says she was happier than winning Gold. “It was such a special moment to be able to celebrate with someone else especially because you know the hard work that they put in. I was so grateful that I also could exigence this and then to give it to someone else.”

For her, she had the space and freedom to relax then and enjoy her swimming and the Olympics.

“The pressure of a medal weighs a lot. We need to change that. It is challenging for athletes and it can feel like we are carrying a bag of rocks.”
To lessen that load, she says you need a good team and community supporting you.

“There are people to help you, but what worked for me, might not work for you and you have to figure out what will work for you so you can be the best version of yourself.”

A time to give back

But she says, she is very happy to help you find your way.

“If I can help take one rock out of the next generation’s bag to allow them to focus on their sport, that is my goal.

“I am in a fortunate position to be able to speak now from experience and help to change it for others.

“My hope and my heart are there and I hope people will see the goal and partner with me. There is so much to change and that we can do together.”

This is a long process. “The system is at fault and it will not be changed overnight. It is about changing the narrative and our mindset.

“I am not complaining, I had so much support and I was able to carry that bag of rocks and achieve success, but now in this position, I think it’s important to give back and allow other girls to not experience some of that.

“If I can get one step ahead on that journey so one girl can start the next step ahead of me, that’s what it is about. Someone must take the lead, but we also cannot rely on one person, but we can work together and then we can achieve more.”

A new adventure awaits

Speaking about her retirement, she says it is one door closing, one season of her life that is over and that she is looking forward to the next door opening and the next new adventure.

Lastly, she adds that she did try the chocolate muffin and yes… it was delicious.