Tatjana Smith, South Africa's most decorated Olympic athlete, will now swim for the Netherlands. The 29-year-old breaststroker announced the switch on Tuesday in a tearful Instagram video, Al Jazeera reported. According to her statement, World Aquatics has confirmed the change of sporting nationality. Smith holds both South African and Dutch citizenship.
Her first race in Dutch orange will be the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing, which run from December 1 to 6. In September she won the South African 50m breaststroke title at the national short course championships in Pietermaritzburg and set two personal bests, Daily Maverick reported. That result had already qualified her for Beijing. She will join the Dutch team for competitions and training camps but will keep training in South Africa with her current team. She has formally notified Swimming South Africa (SSA) and the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation.
Smith acknowledged that "not everyone will understand or agree" with her decision, according to Al Jazeera. She said the financial and practical challenges of swimming were among the reasons her earlier career became hard to sustain. The Netherlands, she added, offers greater high-performance support and the chance to build a more sustainable career. Athletes need a system where they can "thrive, not just survive", she said. Smith also said the move lets her explore a part of her heritage she has never experienced through sport. She thanked South African fans and coaches and said that gratitude "will never change".
Smith, formerly known as Tatjana Schoenmaker, won four individual Olympic medals at the Tokyo and Paris Games: two gold and two silver in the 100m and 200m breaststroke. She set a 200m breaststroke world record on her way to gold in Tokyo. In 2023 she won the 200m breaststroke world title in Fukuoka, Japan. Daily Maverick says she was the first South African woman to win gold in that event. Fellow South African Chad le Clos also has four Olympic medals, but only one gold.
She retired after Paris 2024 and announced her return on September 21 this year. She is now targeting the 50m breaststroke, a new Olympic event for Los Angeles 2028.
Smith has recently challenged SSA over athlete welfare, Daily Maverick reported. After her 2023 world title, SSA withheld her $35,000 prize money, saying she had competed in the wrong kit. The money was paid more than a year later. The interest followed only after her lawyers demanded it. Smith has said she still does not feel safe in her own federation.
According to Daily Maverick, SSA increasingly relies on athletes to fund their own participation. Some athletes face costs of up to R120,000 to represent the country. Swimmers were asked to contribute about R55,000 for the December short course championships. SSA figures show athlete contributions rose from R7.31 million in 2024 to R9.53 million in 2025.