Swimming South Africa (SSA) has rejected claims by Tatjana Smith that the federation neglected her. An SSA official said the four-time Olympic medallist had sabotaged herself in a fight over sponsors.
The comments came after Smith announced on Tuesday that she will now represent the Netherlands. Her first event for the Dutch will be the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing next month.
“We’ve supported Tatjana. We really supported Tatjana. Sometimes it’s not financial because as the federation, we cannot afford (it), we don’t have the financial means,” SSA operations manager Mafata Modutoane said on MetroFM. “But at the same time, Tatjana sabotaged herself.”
Smith is South Africa’s most decorated Olympian. She estimated that about R10 million was spent by her parents, her support team and private sponsors over her 16-year career. She named money pressures and the need for better high-performance support as main reasons for leaving.
Modutoane said SSA had backed Smith since it spotted her at the age of 12 in Mbombela. He said the problem began when she signed commercial deals that clashed with SSA’s official technical sponsor, Arena.
He claimed the Arena contract pays Olympic medal bonuses of 10,000 euros for gold, 5,000 euros for silver and 3,000 euros for bronze. Swimmers must wear Arena kit when they represent South Africa to qualify.
“She accepted the kit. But when she appears to go and swim, she’s swimming (in) different technical gear,” Modutoane said. He pointed out that Smith’s manager Joel, who is now her husband, is an agent for rival brand Speedo.
Smith has said before that swimmers get no money from the Arena deal. She argued that the contract funds the federation, while athletes must give up personal swimwear sponsorships that pay for training and travel.
According to a source quoted by IOL, the Arena medal bonus has never been mentioned in official SSA letters sent to athletes picked for major events.
After the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, where Smith raced in a Speedo suit and goggles, SSA threatened her with a fine of 46,000 euros. It also held back 35,000 dollars, about R578,900, in World Aquatics prize money for more than a year.
SSA later dropped the fine. Smith’s lawyers said athletes were only warned about it shortly before the competition began. After legal action in September, SSA paid out the prize money and the interest on it.
The federation is also facing governance trouble. SSA president Alan Fritz and CEO Shaun Adriaanse have been provisionally suspended by the Aquatics Integrity Unit.
Another top swimmer may also leave. Two-time Olympian Matthew Sates, the 2022 World Short Course champion, has revealed plans to seek Australian citizenship so he can swim for Australia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Sates holds several African records and has not spoken publicly about why he plans to move. Smith has already been cleared to race for the Netherlands in Beijing after posting qualifying times at the Dutch trials in Rotterdam last month.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.