In a column for NBC Sports, Tatjana Smith announced that she will represent the Netherlands instead of South Africa.
Smith won swimming gold medals at the last two Olympic Games for South Africa. She holds dual citizenship in South Africa and the Netherlands. World Aquatics confirmed her sport nationality change, according to a press release from her team.
South Africa’s most decorated Olympian, Tatjana Smith, has officially switched sporting allegiance to the Netherlands after World Aquatics approved her change of nationality. 🥇🥇 Olympic gold medals 🥈🥈 Olympic silver medals 🇿🇦 A South African legend While she will now… pic.twitter.com/chNC4fBVNz
For the Olympic Games, athletes must typically wait three years after representing one nation before competing for a new one. Smith last represented South Africa at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She then retired from competitive swimming for two years.
Smith will represent the Netherlands at the World Short Course Championships. The event takes place from Dec. 1-6 in Beijing.
Smith cited career sustainability as her primary reason for the switch. She said the Netherlands offers greater high performance support.
She ended a two-year retirement in September. She returned to competition at South Africa’s trials for short course worlds.
Despite changing her sporting nationality, Smith will continue to train in South Africa. She addressed her supporters in a video titled “To my beloved South Africa.”
“When I was a little girl, my biggest dream was to represent my country at the Olympic Games,” Smith said in the video.
🏊♀️ OLYMPIC CHAMPION TATJANA SMITH SWITCHES NATIONAL ALLEGIANCE FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO THE NETHERLANDS South African swimming legend Tatjana Smith has officially changed her sporting nationality to the Netherlands after receiving approval from World Aquatics. The celebrated…
Smith won the 200m breaststroke gold medal in Tokyo under her maiden name, Tatjana Schoenmaker. She then won the 100m breaststroke gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
She acknowledged that her decision might upset some fans. She said that she made the choice for her future and her sport.
Swimming icon Tatjana Smith switches allegiance to the Netherlands ‘to thrive, not just survive’ https://t.co/uMSCsNQTZj
“I know that not everyone will understand or agree with my decision,” Smith said. “I could spend hours trying to explain it, justify it or convince everyone why I made this choice, but at the end of the day, this is a decision I’ve had to make for myself and my future.”
“I will always be incredibly proud to be South African,” Smith said.
Smith won the 200-meter breaststroke gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 100-meter breaststroke gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Smith will compete for the Netherlands at the World Short Course Championships running from Dec. 1-6 in Beijing.
Smith will continue to train in South Africa despite changing her national representation to the Netherlands.
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