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Tatjana Smith, South Africa’s most decorated Olympian, posted an emotional video to Instagram on Tuesday announcing her switch to represent the Netherlands in international swimming competitions. The 29-year-old, who holds dual citizenship through her Dutch-born father, said the decision followed her return to the sport in September after a post-Paris retirement and will allow her to pursue a more sustainable career. “When I was a little girl, my biggest dream was to represent my country at the Olympic Games,” Smith said in the video. “I got to live that dream, and it gave me more than I could have ever imagined.” She added that dreams can change as people grow while acknowledging the move may affect those who supported her under South African colours.
Smith claimed two Olympic golds and two silvers across the Tokyo and Paris Games, according to reports from NBC Sports and AFP, securing her status as the country’s most successful Olympian. She triumphed in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics under her maiden name Schoenmaker and took the 100-metre title in Paris last year while earning silvers in the other distances. That tally edges out swimmer Chad le Clos, who also has four medals but only one gold, Al Jazeera noted in its coverage of her achievements. World Aquatics approved the nationality change after her last representation of South Africa in Paris in 2024.
The decision offers Smith greater high-performance resources and addresses practical difficulties that had made continuing in South Africa challenging, she explained in the statement carried across outlets including The Independent and Reuters. “The reality is that this opportunity also offers greater high-performance support and the potential to build a more sustainable career,” Smith said. “The financial and practical challenges of swimming were among the reasons my previous career became difficult to sustain.” Reports from IOL and Daily Maverick highlighted prior administrative issues with Swimming South Africa, such as withheld prize money, that factored into her choice to explore her heritage through sport.
Smith will continue living and training in South Africa with her established coaches while joining Dutch training camps and competitions, a press release from her team distributed via multiple agencies confirmed. She is set to make her debut for the Netherlands at the World Short Course Championships in Beijing from December 1 to 6, ahead of targeting the newly added 50-metre breaststroke at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The three-year eligibility wait for Olympic representation under new colours will not hinder her Los Angeles plans given the timeline since her final South African appearance. She had already begun racing for a Dutch club in Rotterdam prior to the announcement, breaking several championship records there according to reporting by IOL.
Her sister-in-law Rachel Kolisi reposted the video on social media in a show of support, Briefly.co.za reported, as Smith emphasised her enduring gratitude toward South Africa. “I know it may disappoint or even break the hearts of people that who have supported me and been part of my journey, and that’s not something I take lightly,” Smith said. “I will always be incredibly proud to be South African.” The announcement has drawn widespread coverage from outlets across Africa and Europe examining the implications for national teams and athlete mobility.
A study published in the journal Citizenship Studies that examined 167 athletes who switched Olympic nationalities found an upward trend in such changes since the 1990s though the practice remains relatively uncommon. SwimSwam reported that World Aquatics reduced the waiting period for sporting citizenship changes to one year in 2025. Smith’s four Olympic medals will remain accredited to South Africa with all future results listed under the Netherlands, according to eligibility explanations from Briefly.co.za. She has described the move as allowing her to thrive rather than simply survive in the sport.
