{"id":455937,"date":"2020-12-02T04:00:52","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=455937"},"modified":"2020-12-01T15:17:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T22:17:53","slug":"swimming-world-presents-proving-their-mettle-south-africas-tatjana-schoenmaker-and-teammates-working-to-show-the-world-how-good-they-can-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-proving-their-mettle-south-africas-tatjana-schoenmaker-and-teammates-working-to-show-the-world-how-good-they-can-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents – Proving Their Mettle: South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker and Teammates Working To Show The World How Good They Can Be"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em><\/span>
\nis now available for download in the<\/span> Swimming World Vault<\/span><\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n

Non-Subscribers Can Download This Issue Here<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Proving Their Mettle: South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker and Teammates Working To Show The World How Good They Can Be<\/span><\/h1>\n

By Andy Ross<\/span><\/p>\n

After the South African media made several disparaging comments about the women\u2019s swimming team in 2016 when none of their swimmers had qualified for the Rio Olympics, Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When 22-year-old Tatjana Schoenmaker touched the wall in the 200 meter breaststroke final at the 2019 World Championships in Budapest, she was overcome with emotion. The South African won the silver medal in her best event and set an African record in the semifinals with a 2:21.79.<\/p>\n

Her time in the final was slower than the night before, but it didn\u2019t matter. She was on the podium and would be seeing her country\u2019s flag raised at the major international meet of the year. It was a huge moment not only for her, but also for women\u2019s swimming in South Africa.<\/p>\n

It was the first medal ever won by a South African female swimmer at Worlds. And to make it even more special, she was handed her medal by South African Olympic champion Penny Heyns, who was a champion breaststroker in her heyday during the 1990s until she retired in 2001.<\/p>\n

Heyns, who captured two gold medals at Atlanta in 1996, is the only woman in Olympic history to have won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Even though Heyns had an illustrious career, she never made it to the podium at the World Championships, finishing fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 breast at the 1998 Worlds in Perth, Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant so much,\u201d Schoenmaker said of her silver medal performance. \u201cYou can see it was an overwhelming experience. I still remember after the race and walking to my bag to go and get changed, it just didn\u2019t feel real. I was like, \u2018Tatjana, you just won silver,\u2019 and it felt so weird.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was my first World Champs, so I just wanted to really experience it. It was so nice racing the world\u2019s best and being able to try and swim fast times in this crazy new experience.
\n\u201cAnd then having Penny Heyns hand me my medal\u2014it was so special because…what are the odds? She\u2019s standing there giving me my medal\u2014it was overwhelming, but it was such an honor to be able to share that moment with Penny. She is honestly a true champion for South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just three years earlier, however, women\u2019s swimming in South Africa wasn\u2019t nearly as promising. In 2016, not one single female swimmer had qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio. And their country hadn\u2019t won an Olympic medal in a women\u2019s event since Heyns took bronze in the 100 breast in 2000!<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, the women\u2019s team certainly didn\u2019t receive any sympathy from the local media. In fact, because of their disparaging comments, the swimmers were put on the defensive.
\n\u201cIt was for us to show them (the media) because we really got bad media exposure in 2016,\u201d Schoenmaker said. \u201cThey basically said no girls made it and that we were basically useless! And we were those girls! It wasn\u2019t a nice feeling because we were all so young. One of the oldest girls on the team is Tayla Lovemore (now 25), and she is coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so now is the rest of the team…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To read more about the South African Women’s Swimming Team, <\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

check out the full Swimming World December 2020 issue…<\/a>Click here to download now<\/a>!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"SW<\/a>[PHOTO CREDIT: PETER H. BICK]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get Swimming World Magazine<\/em> and Swimming World Biweekly<\/em> FREE When You<\/span>
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Non-Subscribers can click here to download this issue for only $5.94<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

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Swimming World Magazine December 2020 Issue<\/span><\/h2>\n

FEATURES<\/p>\n

012<\/span> SWIMMERS OF THE MILLENNIUM\u2019S FIRST 20 YEARS (2000-19)<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn, David Rieder, Andy Ross and Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong><\/span>
\nWorld & American: Michael Phelps & Katie Ledecky
\nEuropean: Pieter van den Hoogenband & Inge de Bruijn
\nPacific Rim: Ian Thorpe & Leisel Jones
\nAfrican: Chad le Clos & Kirsty Coventry<\/p>\n

019<\/span> PROVING THEIR METTLE<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Andy Ross<\/strong>
\nAfter the South African media made several disparaging comments about the women\u2019s swimming team in 2016 when none of their swimmers had qualified for the Rio Olympics, Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.<\/p>\n

021<\/span> FIT TO BE TIED<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn<\/strong>
\nAt the 1972 Munich Olympics, Sweden\u2019s Gunnar Larsson was awarded the gold medal in the men\u2019s 400 IM, edging USA\u2019s Tim McKee by 2-thousandths of a second. Subsequently, international swimming rules were changed to record results to 1-hundredth of a second, allowing for ties among swimmers with identical times.<\/p>\n

034<\/span> MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH CLAIRE CURZAN<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Shoshanna Rutemiller<\/strong><\/p>\n

COACHING<\/p>\n

010<\/span> TOUGHEST WORKOUTS (Part 2)<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nSwimming has had its share of taskmasters over the years. In the second of a two-part series on workouts designed to push swimmers to their limits are some sets from respected authoritative figures at Germantown, Arden Hills, Bluefish and Florida who have trained exceptional athletes that have excelled on the international stage.<\/p>\n

038<\/span> SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: BREASTSTROKE BREATHING HEAD TIMING DELAY<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Rod Havriluk<\/strong>
\nIn breaststroke, most swimmers learn to synchronize their head and arm motions to breathe and to recover to the non-012 breathing position. However, a delay in the head motion both to breathe and to recover affords benefits of less resistance, more propulsion and a faster stroke rate.<\/p>\n

040<\/span> SPECIAL SETS: DAVE SALO\u2014THE MAN AND THE METHOD<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nDave Salo has represented the United States as an Olympic, World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships coach and has guided the USC Trojans to 18 NCAA Top 10 finishes in 14 years. But his enduring legacy will most likely be his training mindset that emphasizes race-pace training and quality over quantity.<\/p>\n

043<\/span> Q&A WITH COACH MICHAEL BROOKS<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

044<\/span> HOW THEY TRAIN THOMAS HAGAR<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

TRAINING<\/p>\n

037<\/span> DRYSIDE TRAINING: POSSIBLY THE 5 BEST DRYLAND EXERCISES EVER!<\/strong><\/span>
\nby J.R. Rosania<\/strong>
\nIf done properly and regulary, these exercises can enhance your stroke, technique, power and speed.<\/p>\n

JUNIOR SWIMMER<\/p>\n

047<\/span> UP & COMERS: ERIKA PELAEZ<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Shoshanna Rutemiller<\/p>\n

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS<\/p>\n

008<\/span> A VOICE FOR THE SPORT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

009<\/span> DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE ART OF SWIMMING?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

026<\/span> HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

036<\/span> DADS ON DECK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

046<\/span> HASTY HIGH POINTERS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

048<\/span> GUTTERTALK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

049<\/span> PARTING SHOT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n