{"id":457857,"date":"2020-12-25T07:33:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-25T14:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=457857"},"modified":"2020-12-31T12:18:41","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T19:18:41","slug":"tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story appeared in the December 2020 issue<\/a> of Swimming World Magazine<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When 22-year-old Tatjana Schoenmaker<\/strong> touched the wall in the 200 meter breaststroke final at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, 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. 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<\/strong>, who was a champion breaststroker in her heyday during the 1990s until she retired in 2001. 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, getting inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame<\/a> in 2007, 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

\"yuliya-efimova-tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_6\"

Tatjana Schoenmaker laughs with gold medalist Yulia Efimova. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt meant so much,\u201d Tatjana 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then having Penny Heyns<\/strong> 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

TURNING THINGS AROUND<\/strong><\/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! 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.<\/p>\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<\/strong> (now 25), and she is coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

2019 was a breakthrough year. Erin Gallagher<\/strong> got things started in April by setting an African record in the 100 meter butterfly (57.67) at the South African Championships in Durban. Then, at the World University Games at Naples, Italy, in July, South Africa\u2019s women won four gold medals. Schoenmaker swept the 100 and 200 breast and lowered her African record in the 100 to 1:06.32sf. Meanwhile, Lovemore added wins<\/a> in the 50 and 100 fly.<\/p>\n

\"schoenmaker-corbett-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships\"

Tatjana Schoenmaker (right) with Kaylene Corbett at the 2019 Worlds. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n

Three weeks later, South Africa sent eight women to the World Championships, where Schoenmaker and Kaylene Corbett<\/strong> both made the final in the 200 breast. It was all a sign of good things to come for the South African women.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been challenging,\u201d Schoenmaker admitted, \u201cbecause the media was very negative, but I think as girls we had this mental thing where, \u2018We\u2019re going to show them.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, we didn\u2019t have to discuss it with each other. Since (2016), we have been supporting each other so much more, and we have been trying to prove to (the media) that we are good enough, and they shouldn\u2019t have said those bad things because we were (young) and on our way. We just brushed it off and were like, \u2018It\u2019s fine. We\u2019re still coming, and then they\u2019ll be shocked.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

PERSONAL BREAKTHROUGH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schoenmaker made her personal international breakthrough in 2018 at the Commonwealth Games<\/a> on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. That\u2019s where she swept the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke gold medals with African records in each event (1:06.41, 2:22.02). It was the first time she had won gold at an international meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven today I can\u2019t believe that I actually won double gold at the Commonwealth Games,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was never my plan. Coming in, I was ranked sixth or seventh in the 200. I thought I was lucky just to swim my best time in the heats (2:23.57). So, never ever was it my thinking that I was going to win some medals!<\/p>\n

\u201cI even remember asking (Coach) Rocco (Meiring)<\/strong> if he thought it was possible I could maybe win a bronze, and he was like, \u2018Tatjana, it can be, but you are going to have to work really hard.\u2019 So it wasn\u2019t in my training cycle that I was set on winning a medal\u2014I just one day asked him if he thought it was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schoenmaker has been with Coach Meiring in Pretoria since she was in ninth grade. And it is the unique relationship between her and her coach that has kept her from wanting to leave and train elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few universities in the U.S. asked me to come through,\u201d Schoenmaker said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to go when it is working so well for me. I love my squad and my relationship with Coach Rocco.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also love being here at home with my family, so even given those opportunities, it never crossed my mind twice to even think of saying yes. I always wanted to stay in South Africa and be with everyone I know. I did get opportunities, but there was no doubt in my mind that I would ever leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

HONORED AND BLESSED<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"tatjana-schoenmaker-\"

Tatjana Schoenmaker at the 2019 Worlds. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n

With women\u2019s swimming in South Africa seemingly on the upswing, Schoenmaker now has her eyes set on training an extra year for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She\u2019s extremely grateful for all of the opportunities swimming has provided her, allowing her to travel the world and experience things she had never been able to do before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very honored and blessed to be able to represent South Africa and to be able to do it in something I love and that no one forces on me.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a swimmer, you have to love the sport because you can\u2019t build much of a career out of it with not as much funding. It\u2019s never been something you are forced to do\u2014it\u2019s really something you love doing while being able to represent your country and travel the world. It\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many places I have seen through swimming, and people in and out of swimming that I have met. I\u2019m definitely very blessed to be able to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":383915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122100,10],"tags":[34385,40255,34958],"class_list":["post-457857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-features","category-world","tag-2020-tokyo-olympic-games","tag-swimming-south-africa","tag-tatjana-schoenmaker"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nTatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-25T14:33:37+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-31T19:18:41+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"735\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Ross\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@andy_ross4\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Ross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andy Ross\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6570435d5efc99e0022928b0dc3acbe1\"},\"headline\":\"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-25T14:33:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-31T19:18:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\"},\"wordCount\":1354,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2020 Tokyo Olympic Games\",\"Swimming South Africa\",\"Tatjana Schoenmaker\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Features\",\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\",\"name\":\"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics - Swimming World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-25T14:33:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-31T19:18:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":735,\"caption\":\"Tatjana Schoenmaker -- Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6570435d5efc99e0022928b0dc3acbe1\",\"name\":\"Andy Ross\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd42964a366e605792c6b733fe0b043f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd42964a366e605792c6b733fe0b043f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Andy Ross\"},\"description\":\"Andy Ross is the new man on board at Swimming World. He is based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a 2017 graduate of Southern Illinois University where he graduated cum laude.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/andy_ross4\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/andy-ross\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics - Swimming World","description":"Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics","og_description":"Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2020-12-25T14:33:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-31T19:18:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":735,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andy Ross","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@andy_ross4","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andy Ross","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/"},"author":{"name":"Andy Ross","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6570435d5efc99e0022928b0dc3acbe1"},"headline":"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics","datePublished":"2020-12-25T14:33:37+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-31T19:18:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/"},"wordCount":1354,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg","keywords":["2020 Tokyo Olympic Games","Swimming South Africa","Tatjana Schoenmaker"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Features","World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/","name":"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics - Swimming World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-25T14:33:37+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-31T19:18:41+00:00","description":"Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg","width":1100,"height":735,"caption":"Tatjana Schoenmaker -- Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tatjana-schoenmaker-helping-south-african-women-prove-their-mettle-ahead-of-2021-olympics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tatjana Schoenmaker Helping South African Women Prove Their Mettle Ahead of 2021 Olympics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6570435d5efc99e0022928b0dc3acbe1","name":"Andy Ross","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd42964a366e605792c6b733fe0b043f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd42964a366e605792c6b733fe0b043f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Andy Ross"},"description":"Andy Ross is the new man on board at Swimming World. He is based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a 2017 graduate of Southern Illinois University where he graduated cum laude.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/andy_ross4"],"url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/andy-ross\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Tatjana Schoenmaker - a season of smiles - Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/tatjana-schoenmaker-200-breast-final-2019-world-championships_1-e1650372227826.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-1V6N","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}