Max Speed Is Back in More Ways Than One: Tatjana Smith Returns to Competitive Swimming
South Africa’s most decorated Olympian steps back into competition with a new event, a new coach and a new relationship with the sport that made her name.
Olympic champion Tatjana Smith has announced her return to competitive swimming, having previously stepped away from the sport believing her career was complete. Her comeback follows a period of reflection that reshaped her relationship with swimming and what she wants from this next stage of her life.
When Smith retired in 2024, she had no intention of returning. Stepping away gave her the space to reflect on the mental and physical demands of elite sport, the pressure of constant performance and what she wanted life beyond the pool to look like.
“When I announced my retirement from swimming, I genuinely believed that chapter of my life was over. With some distance, I realised that stepping away had been the right decision for me at that time. I had always believed that swimming was something I did, not who I was. Stepping away proved that to me. I discovered that I could have a full life beyond the pool and still choose to swim. I am coming back because I want to. This time, the decision is mine. The time away gave me perspective, but it also gave me power. Now I get to bring both of those things back into the pool.”
For much of her career, swimming was an opportunity given to her by her parents, and one she felt a responsibility to make the most of. That sense of responsibility remains part of her story, but her decision to return is different. This time, it is a choice she is making for herself.
With distance from competition, Smith also realised that she missed the racing, competitiveness and challenge of the sport.
Smith’s return also creates a fitting parallel with Huawei, where Smith is a longstanding friend of the brand. As she prepares to rediscover her speed in the pool, the HUAWEI Pura 90s Series has brought 5G back to Huawei’s flagship smartphone range in South Africa. In that sense, max speed is back in more ways than one, with both Smith and Huawei entering a new chapter built on moving forward rather than simply recreating what came before.
Her return will look different from the career she left behind. She will take on a new event, train with a new group in a new city and work with a new coach, while placing greater emphasis on balance and maintaining a full life outside of sport.
“I am not coming back as the same athlete, or the same person. It’s a new chapter, a new challenge, a new event, a new training group, a new city and a new coach. Most importantly, it’s a new balance. I have learned that I don’t have to choose between being an athlete and having a full life outside of sport. I can have both.”
That emphasis on balance has also shaped Smith’s journey with Huawei wearables. During her relationship with the brand, technology has become another way to understand activity, recovery and performance, while supporting rather than defining the athlete. As she moves back into structured training and competition, that relationship between technology, performance and personal judgement takes on new relevance.
Smith’s return also comes at an important time for South African sport, with ongoing conversations around the experiences of athletes within the sporting system. While she is excited to return to competition, she believes the pursuit of sporting excellence must also be grounded in an environment where athletes feel supported and respected.
“Athletes deserve to love their sport. They deserve to feel safe, supported and respected within it. And they deserve the opportunity to pursue excellence without having to compromise who they are.”
Smith’s return marks a new chapter in her relationship with the sport that has shaped much of her life, with a clearer sense of why she wants to be in the pool and how she wants to approach this next chapter.
Her first competitive appearance will be at the South African Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg from 24 to 27 September 2026, marking her return to racing after stepping away from competitive swimming in 2024.
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ABOUT TATJANA SMITH
Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) is a two-time Olympic champion and South Africa’s most decorated Olympian. Across the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, she won four individual medals in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, including two gold and two silver. She is tied for the most individual Olympic breaststroke medals in history, alongside Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima. She is also a former 200m breaststroke world record holder, having set the world record at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and a World Championship medallist. Smith retired from competitive swimming in 2024.
