SA's most decorated Olympian

SWIMMING: SMITH MAKES SPLASH ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE, PEOPLE'S LIVES

- Wesley Botton

AS much as she achieved in the swimming pool, Tatjana Smith will be best remembered for her beaming smile.

Embodying the type of sportsmanship that we would hope for from a national ambassador, her character as an athlete and a person has been best displayed not when she has won, but when she hasn't.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Smith settled for second place in a surprise defeat to 19-year-old compatriot Lara van Niekerk in the 100m breaststroke final.

However, while she was held off by the teenager, she seemed more pleased with the result than Van Niekerk herself.

"It's so nice to stand on the podium now looking at a younger swimmer taking medals. It is a privilege to share this moment with her," Smith, then known as Tatjana Schoenmaker, said at the time.

"Hopefully, there's still a lot to come. I don't know how long I will be on the podium, but as long as they [younger swimmers] stay on, it's fine."

And that, in a nutshell, is Smith. Despite how good she was at it, she never took her swimming too seriously and seemed well-rounded enough that her career was not everything in her life.

It was always just a part of it, and after announcing her retirement on Thursday, she seemed delighted to be able to move on and focus on other things.