Tatjana Smith will compete for the Netherlands from now on, following a dispute over prize money she says was owed to her by Swimming South Africa.
Smith, who holds both South African and Dutch citizenship, confirmed on 10 November that she had switched sporting nationality. World Aquatics has approved the change.
Smith is the only South African to win Olympic gold at the last two Games. She won four individual Olympic medals from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, two gold and two silver, all in the 100m and 200m breaststroke. She previously held the world record in the 200m breaststroke. She also won gold at the 2023 World Championships in Japan, becoming the first South African woman to achieve that feat. She has four Commonwealth Games medals and three World Championship podiums.
Swimming South Africa withheld prize money due to her, according to reports on the dispute that preceded her decision.
Smith said athletes need an “opportunity to thrive, not just survive”.
“Representing South Africa at the Olympic Games was my biggest childhood dream. To have lived that dream and won four Olympic medals is something I will always treasure,” Smith said.
“Both South Africa and the Netherlands have always been part of who I am. I am deeply grateful to the South African swimming community, all my coaches, and to every South African who cheered me on. That gratitude will never change.”
Smith retired in 2024. She returned on 21 September 2026 after almost two years out of the pool.
“When I decided to return to swimming, it wasn’t because I had something left to prove. It was because I had fallen in love with the sport again. I wanted to compete, push my limit and discover what more I was capable of, and for the next chapter my dream looks different,” she said.
Smith said the move gives her the “opportunity to explore another part of my identity and the heritage that I have never experienced through sport”.