Tatjana Schoenmaker added another accolade to her prolific haul, claiming a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old reached the 50m mark in fourth place, but stormed back into podium contention in the second half of the race, producing a particularly speedy final 25m to secure the silver in a time of 1:05.84.
Lithuania’s 2012 Olympic champion Ruta Meilutytė dominated from the start and claimed the gold in a time of 1:04.62. American Lydia Jacoby, who won the Olympic 100m breaststroke title in Tokyo in 2021 ahead of Schoenmaker, took the bronze in Fukuoka in 1:05.94, while her compatriot, Lilly King, who holds the world record in the event, missed out on the medals, finishing fourth in 1:06.02.
Schoenmaker’s focus will now shift to her main event – the 200m breaststroke, in which she won Olympic gold in 2021, with the heats scheduled for Thursday.
“I didn’t expect that (medal). The last world championships I was at (in 2019) I came sixth in the 100m, so to medal is incredible,” the Pretoria swimmer said after her race.
“I don’t train for the 100, I train for the 200, so I’m just grateful that my speed is there. I was very indecisive as to whether to come to this competition – it’s been a very tough two years for me – so I think swimming my fastest time since the Olympics, I’m slowly getting there,” she said.
Meanwhile, Michael Houlie earned a place in the 50m breaststroke semifinals, finishing 14th overall in the morning heats in a time of 27.31 seconds.
In the evening semifinal, the 23-year-old was quickest off the blocks but finished in eighth place in 27.57 seconds, missing out on a spot in Wednesday’s final.
Swimming action continues on Wednesday in Fukuoka with Milla Drakopoulos competing in the women’s 50m backstroke heats, Clayton Jimmie in the men’s 100m freestyle heats, and Trinity Hearne in the women’s 200m butterfly heats.
Cape Times