Rachel Kolisi, the wife of Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, showed her sister-in-law, Tatjana Smith some love after she revealed that she will be competing in the Paris Olympics 2024, via an Instagram post on 16 May.
TATJANA SMITH ANNOUNCED AS PART OF TEAM SA FOR PARIS OLYMPICS
SASCOC announced the first batch of athletes that will be representing South Africa at the Paris Olympics 2024 on 15 May. Among many others, was Tatjana Smith, formerly Shoenmaker. She will be competing in the women’s 100m and 200m breaststroke events.
Following the announcement, Tatjana took to Instagram to share an announcement post holding balloons that read “Paris”. Take a look…
“•PARIS•. Annnnd it is OFFICIAL!!!! Paris Olympics 2024 🇫🇷🗼. Congratulations to all the other athletes including my fellow swimmers for making the team. VERY VERY EXCITED to swim for the Glory of God and to represent my country while doing it 🙏🏼,” the post was captioned.
Rachel Kolisi took to the comments section of the post to show Tatjana some love.
“🔥🔥🔥,” commented Rachel.
Tatjana is married to Rachel’s brother, Joel Smith. The pair tied the knot at the Pat Busch Mountain Reserve in the Western Cape in 2023. Rachel is married to Springboks captain, Siya Kolisi. Siya, Rachel and their two kids – Nicholas (9) and Keziah (6) moved to Paris, France in 2023. The move came just before Siya joined Paris-based rugby team, Racing 92.
The Paris Olympics 2024 kick off on 26 July and end on 11 August. The opening ceremony will take place in Jardins du Trocadéro and the Seine, while the closing ceremony will take place at Stade de France. So, it seems there may be a Smith family reunion on the cards.
THE OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN SWIMMERS JOINING MRS SMITH
Tatjana will be joined by four other South African female swimmers. Namely, Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100m butterfly), Rebecca Meder (200m IM).
Meanwhile, there were three male swimmers selected: Pieter Coetze (100m and 200m breaststroke), Chad le Cos (100m butterfly) and Matthew Sates (100m, 200m butterfly and 200m IM).
Tatjana is no stranger to the Olympics. The talented swimmer made her Olympic debut in Tokyo and became only the third South African woman to win an Olympic swimming title. She followed Joan Harrison and Helsinki Games.
Tatjana is a gold Olympic winner, according to The Citizen, she won gold in the 100m and 200m breaststroke finals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia.