'What a finish!' - South Africans celebrate Tatjana Smith's gold medal

South Africans are beaming with pride after Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker) won the country's first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Tatjana made an incredible comeback in the last quarter of the 100-metre breaststroke final to snatch gold from China's Tang Qianting. 

She finished in 1:05.28. Tatjana now has back-to-back Olympic wins, having also had an impressive showing at the Tokyo Games in 2021. 

The 27-year-old, swimming under her maiden surname at the time, won gold in the 200-metre breaststroke and silver in the 100m breaststroke. 

Tatjana revealed ahead of her big race on Monday that changing her name helped relieve some of the pressure. She married sports manager Joel Smith in 2023. Joel is the brother of Rachel Kolisi, and previously worked for Siya Kolisi's foundation. 

"It’s learning how to deal with that (pressure). So it’s really been through the years how I’ve learned that, and I think with my new surname, the pressure is off. There’s no more Schoenmaker. Everything came with Schoenmaker, so it really just feels like I can swim freely. I don’t have the pressure of Schoenmaker on me. I’m new and a different person," Swimming World magazine quoted Tatjana. 

Joel is currently in Paris supporting his wife. A few weeks before flying to the Olympics, he gave her a sweet shout-out. 

"Can’t wait to get to Paris to support Mrs Smith at the Olympics. No matter the result, the effort and discipline that she has put into this has been a privilege to witness. I have never eaten so much brown rice, chicken and broccoli in my life. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be watching my wife at the Olympics," he wrote on Instagram in June. 

ALSO READ: Schoenmaker wins women's 200m breaststroke world title

An emotional Tatjana told reporters after her win that she was racing for South Africa and everyone who played a part in her swimming career.

"It took a village to get me where I am today and I know that they would've been proud even if I didn't have a medal. But it was really for them. I swam for everyone that’s been there for me, that’s believed wit me, and for our country as well," she said. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa joined scores of South Africans in celebrating Tatjana's win, which brings the country's current medal tally to three. 

"Congratulations to our repeat Olympic champion, Tatjana Smith, for earning South Africa’s first #gold medal at #Paris2024 with her stunning surge in the 100m breaststroke in the Paris La Defense Arena pool," he said. 

'Tatjana Smith' started trending at #1 on X (Twitter) shortly after her victory. South Africans flooded X's timeline with messages of congratulations for our Olympic champ. 

"No DNA, just RSA.🥇 The amount of pride hearing our national anthem and our flag flying higher than the others during Tatjana Smith's Olympic victory ceremony, is unmatched.🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦," one X user wrote. 

Another user added: "You can see from her eyes that she's proudly South African. I am so emotional. Thank you, Tatjana Smith, for making us all proud."

Here's a look at what others had to say:

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Main image credit: Instagram/@tatjanaschoen