• Tatjana Smith won the 50m and 100m breaststroke titles at the SA Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg.

• Her times automatically qualified her for December’s World Short Course Championships as she builds towards the 2028 Olympics.

Publish time: 2026-09-28 10:45

Tatjana Smith has made a winning return to elite swimming, taking two national titles and booking her place at the World Short Course Championships.

According to Wesley Botton’s report, the four-time Olympic medallist was one of the top performers at the SA Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg.

Smith, who retired from competitive swimming in 2024, won the women’s 50m breaststroke in a personal-best 29.50 seconds.

She then won the 100m breaststroke in 1:04.00, just 0.11 seconds outside her own national short course record.

Both times automatically qualified her for the World Short Course Championships in December.

Smith also recorded the fastest time in the 200m breaststroke heats at 2:23.27 but withdrew from the final.

The 29-year-old is now focusing more on shorter races as she looks towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The 50m breaststroke will be part of the Olympic programme for the first time.

Smith said she is still getting used to racing over the shorter distance.

“It was the first race in a new event, so there are a lot of things going on in your mind,” she said.

She admitted she was surprised by her 50m time.

“I didn’t feel like I executed it that well… but I didn’t do so bad. Not bad at all.”

Smith will race both the 50m and 100m breaststroke at the World Short Course Championships after qualifying in both.

Michael Houlie, Chris Smith and Duné Coetzee also achieved automatic qualifying standards at the championships.

Another 15 swimmers reached B qualifying standards and can be considered for national selection.