SA’s most decorated Olympian speaks out against the federation running (or ruining?) her sport
The night before she raced for a World Championship title, Tatjana Smith wasn’t thinking about her stroke. She was thinking about a fine. South Africa’s most decorated Olympian tells Alec Hogg how Swimming SA threatened to fine her tens of thousands of euros for wearing the wrong swimwear, how her prize money sat in the federation’s account for over a year, and why she’s only speaking now that the sport’s global governing body has suspended Swimming SA’s president and CEO over allegations of fake documents and abuse of power. She also opens up on a R100 million-plus training centre that’s now overrun with weeds, and the new athlete watchdog she’s launching to stop the next generation going through what she did.
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