Schoenmaker made a splash when she won South Africa’s first medal of the Tokyo 2020 Games – and inspired Chad le Clos in the process.
Having qualified for the 100m breaststroke final by breaking the Olympic record for the distance and heading into the showdown as the fastest qualifier, Schoenmaker was the favourite to emerge from the water with gold in Tokyo. As it was, she only managed silver, with American teenager Lydia Jacoby edging the 24-year-old to first place.
“It was amazing. We knew we were going to have a tough race going into the final. I cannot complain, I’ve been happy since the heats, obviously,” she said. Schoenmaker is only the eighth South African woman to win an Olympic medal since the country was welcomed back to the international sporting stage following the abolition of apartheid.
“This medal means a lot to me. Especially if I can try to bring hope to our country. We are not going through the best of times at the moment. If this can give a slight bit of hope for anyone out there, to know that we can do it as South Africa, I’m happy,” said Schoenmaker. The 2012 Olympic champion had suffered a scare in the heats on Monday, taking the last qualifying spot for the semifinals. He competed in the first of the two semis and made sure he reached the final with a start-to-finish win in 1:55.06.
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