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Tatjana and Bianca flew SA’s flag in Covid-hit Tokyo 2020

Tatjana and Bianca flew SA’s flag in Covid-hit Tokyo 2020
Bianca Buitendag catches a wave during the women’s round-2 heat of the Tokyo 2020 Games at Tsurigasaki Beach in Ichinomiya, Japan, on 25 July 2021. (Photo: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images)
Craig Ray
By Craig Ray
30 Jun 2024
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South Africa’s only medals at these Games were won by female athletes who excelled in the water.

Everything was strange about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, starting with their being held in 2021, a year later than scheduled.

The Covid pandemic that swept the globe meant that the sporting world went into a strange holding pattern. Matches, tournaments and leagues were suspended. Some events, such as Wimbledon, were cancelled altogether.

The Tokyo Olympics, set for July 2020, were on the brink of becoming the biggest sporting casualty of the pandemic. But too much money, time and effort had gone into preparing for it, and the International Olympic Committee had too much to lose in terms of earnings if they were cancelled. They had to happen.

And they did – a year later. Still called “Tokyo 2020” in the record books, the change of scheduling was not only a logistical problem for the organisers and broadcasters, but for the athletes too.

Most athletes plan their schedules around the four-year cycle to peak at the Olympics. The postponement meant a rejigging of their training regimes and planning. For some, it ended their hopes of a medal because being one year later and one year older was crippling. For others, it was a chance to have an extra year to approach their peak and be ready.

South African breaststroke swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker (now Smith) was one athlete who perhaps benefited from the delay. She was world-class in 2020, but by 2021 she was almost in a league of her own in the 200m breaststroke event, and had made huge strides in the 100m in the same discipline.

“In early 2020 I realised that the Olympics were only six months away and I suddenly became quite anxious. I thought this moment has come too quickly for me,” Schoenmaker told Daily Maverick in 2021.

“In 2016, I thought that four years more seemed so long and then it was suddenly upon me and I became nervous. It was freaking me out and I thought that I needed one more year to get used to the idea of going to the Olympics.

“And then it happened, not in the way we would’ve liked, but the nervousness gave way to excitement because I felt more mentally and emotionally prepared for the Olympics in 2021.”

For surfer Bianca Buitendag, the delay meant that, after 13 years of grinding on the professional tour, she needed to push for another 12 months to fulfil her dream of being an Olympian.

As it turned out, the delay worked out wonderfully for both South African women.

Medal haul


In an otherwise forgettable Olympic Games for Team South Africa, Schoenmaker and Buitendag provided cheer and silverware. For Schoenmaker, taking home medals was not a surprise, although the standard of her performances underlined that the extra year had benefited her.

Buitendag, by contrast, was an outsider who wasn’t expected to earn a medal. She was not in the top 10 on the women’s professional surfing tour coming into Tokyo; she was ranked 17th out of 20 competitors.

But that’s the beauty of surfing because, unlike a track or a pool, the conditions are ever-changing.

Bianca Buitendag Bianca Buitendag catches a wave during the women’s round-2 heat of the Tokyo 2020 Games at Tsurigasaki Beach in Ichinomiya, Japan, on 25 July 2021. (Photo: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images)



The waves at Japan’s Tsurigasaki Beach, about 100km east of Tokyo where the inaugural Olympic surfing competition was held, were not pristine. The surfers had to show immense stamina just to paddle out, and then they had to display excellent decision-making in choosing the right wave.

Buitendag didn’t have it easy. Early on in the straight knockout format, she was up against seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore of Australia. Buitendag chose excellent waves and then surfed them brilliantly to advance past one of the pre-event favourites. In the next round she knocked off Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Astonishing feet — barefoot Abebe Bikila becomes Ethiopia’s first gold medallist at the Games

Read more in Daily Maverick: Pain and glory — how athletes Derek Redmond and Eric Moussambani captured the spirit of the Games

Read more in Daily Maverick: Out of this world — Bob Beamon and the long leap into the 21st century

That put Buitendag one step away from a medal, and when she beat Caroline Marks of the US in the semifinal, a silver medal was guaranteed. In difficult conditions in the final, she battled to find the right wave and had to settle for a brilliant silver medal with Carissa Moore of the US winning the gold.

Before the event Buitendag had announced that the Olympics would be her last competitive outing as a professional. It was the perfect way to go out.

“I thought this was the perfect opportunity for the grand finale or the closing of my career – which turned out well. I feel like I’ve used all the opportunities in surfing and obviously I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, and surfing means the world to me,” she said at the time.

Double up


A few hours before Buitendag fought her way to silver in the ocean, Schoenmaker won South Africa’s first medal of the Games with a silver in the pool.

Coming second in the 100m breaststroke final was a slight surprise, as the shorter race was not her preferred distance. But her form was so excellent.  Schoenmaker set an Olympic record 1:04.82 in the heats to give notice of her potential.

Despite leading at the halfway point in the 100m final, the US’s Lilly King managed to haul Schoenmaker in, winning the gold in 1:04.95 – slower than the South African’s heat time.

Schoenmaker was not disappointed, though, and was beaming after winning the silver medal with her preferred distance to come. Her 100m performances gave her the confidence for what was to follow.

“My 100 wasn’t seeded as well as the 200. I’ve always wanted to do really well in the 100, but I didn’t expect to do this amazingly. Earning a first medal, I’m very happy,” said after her silver.

Three days later, competing in her eighth race in five days, Schoenmaker delivered a near-perfect performance in the 200m breaststroke final. Her world record time of 2:18.95 left her nearly a second ahead of Americans Lilly King and Annie Lazor, who took silver and bronze. Team South Africa teammate Kaylene Corbett finished fifth.

Schoenmaker was already close to tears after it hit her that she had won the final. And her reaction when she realised it was a world record was priceless.

She let out a spontaneous shriek of delight, which even gave rival Lazor a reason to smile, and she came over to hug the emotional South African. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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