SA WRAP: Smith closer to second gold; Corbett and Coetzé also shine

Tatjana Smith took a step closer to completing a golden double at the Paris Olympics by booking her place in the 200m breaststroke final, albeit with a second-place finish in her semifinal.

The 27-year-old, who already claimed 100m breaststroke gold earlier this week, finished behind American Kate Douglass in her semifinal on Wednesday in a time of 2:19.94.

Douglass took the win in 2:19.74.

Joining Smith in Thursday’s final will be training partner Kaylene Corbett who also finished second in her semifinal in 2:22.87.

Corbett was also in the final in Tokyo three years ago when Smith claimed her first Olympic gold in world record time, finishing in fifth place.

Fantastic swim for #TeamSA! 🇿🇦👏

Men's 200m Backstroke 🏊‍♂
🇿🇦 Pieter Coetze has qualified for the final. ✅

Women's 200m Breaststroke 🏊‍♀
🇿🇦 Kaylene Corbett and Tatjana Smith have both qualified for the final. ✅#TeamSA #Olympics2024 #ForMyCountry pic.twitter.com/w4GcmefVOB
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) July 31, 2024

A smiling Smith was unperturbed by her second place.

“It was amazing… I'm so happy with that time so it doesn't really matter where I came,” she said. “It was such a good race, I think that's a part of what sport is, pushing each other

“It really just brings out the best version of me and I can only be happy.”

Corbett added: “It's literally like on the day who does it best. So I think tomorrow is going to be a very interesting race. We have really incredible girls in the race and I think whoever gets it gets it on the day, so we'll never know until tomorrow. Stay tuned, folks.”

Also booking a place in another Olympic final was Pieter Coetzé who finished second in his 200m backstroke semifinal in a time of 1:56.09 to safely make his way through as the third fastest qualifier on the night.

“This morning was way more smooth and obviously some races are going to hurt more than others,” he said after the race. “I definitely felt it a bit tonight, but I think with the rest that I'll get now before the final the body will recover and I'll be ready tomorrow.”

The 20-year-old broke two African records on his way to fifth place in the 100m backstroke final on Monday but said he’s more focused on reaching the podium tomorrow than breaking records.

TRIATHLETES UPBEAT ABOUT PERFORMANCES

Earlier in the day, Team SA’s triathletes Vicky van der Merwe, Henri Schoeman and Jamie Riddle braved the water of the Seine River in the heart of Paris.

The men’s triathlon had been postponed by a day after the water was still deemed unsafe to swim in on Tuesday.

Officials then retested in the early hours of Wednesday morning and decided bacteria levels had dropped sufficiently for the race to go ahead.

Van der Merwe finished 46^th in the women’s race which was won by France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and said afterwards that she’d competed in worse water at continental events.

“I think honestly we've swum in worse. It's fine… we've definitely swum in worse somewhere in Africa,” she said, not wanting to be too specific on where that was.

Despite finishing 20^th and 25^th in the men’s event, Schoeman and Riddle were both upbeat about their experience.

Schoeman, who claimed a bronze medal in Rio eight years ago but then broke his ankle during the Olympic race in Tokyo in 2021, was simply happy to be back in contention while Riddle described it as the best day of his life.

The 32-year-old had led for much of the swim but said his legs just weren’t there once he transitioned from the bike to the road.

“When I hit the run the legs just didn't arrive. I gave it my best shot, I think I just lacked a little bit of race speed and it was also very hot out there,” he explained.

“It was actually pretty exciting, I loved that. I had a lot of fun… no broken ankles this time and so I was just super excited to cross the finish line.”

Describing the quality of the river, he added: “The water looks very dirty. I mean, you can't see your hand in front of you. But it's about the bacteria that they test in the water, so you never know if it's there or if it's not. You’ve just got to hope that you stay healthy.”

Riddle said 25^th position wasn’t what he’d been hoping for but he was nevertheless thrilled with competing at his first Olympic Games.

“That was incredible. It's obviously not what I trained for results-wise, but I refuse to go out there and not enjoy it regardless of the results,” said the 24-year-old who was aiming for a top-10 spot. “I soaked up everything and that was by far probably the best day of my life, to be honest with you.

“It's a 12-year dream that's come to fruition and you dream of a million scenarios, that was not one of them, but it was still an amazing day. I’m actually still struggling to take it all in.”

As for the water quality, he added: “My word, that was crazy. I swallowed gallons, so I'm hoping I'm not visiting the bathroom later. We'll have to see, but I think the currents and the opponents were far more dangerous than the actual E. coli.”

Elsewhere, London gold medallist John Smith’s quest for a “redemption” gold after a 10^th place in Tokyo came to an end after he and Chris Baxter finished fourth in their men’s pair semifinal. That means they’ll move through to the B final on Friday.

Paige Badenhorst won her C/D semifinal in the single sculls, meaning she will contest the C final on Saturday to fight for 13^th to 18^th place overall.

Paige is heading to the C Final to compete for 13th to 18th place.#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Olympics pic.twitter.com/rhCftu6LfD
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) July 31, 2024

Meanwhile, over at the Yves du Manoir stadium, the SA women’s hockey team scored first in their match against 2016 gold medallists Great Britain, thanks to a goal from Kayla de Waal. But once again, they squandered their lead, conceding 13 minutes later and then again in the third quarter for GB to claim the 2-1 win.

🏑 Tough game for our women's hockey team.🏑#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Olympics pic.twitter.com/zMOIns7OMv
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) July 31, 2024

Later in the evening the SA men’s side went down 3-0 to Spain.