Olympic gold medalist Schoenmaker opts for Commonwealth Games over Worlds

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker, who won the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will not be participating in the upcoming World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Instead, Schoenmaker will be concentrating her efforts on the Commonwealth Games.

Usually, the World Swimming Championships are held in the year following the Commonwealth Games. However, due to the pandemic, the event was postponed to 2022.

In Tokyo last summer, Schoenmaker defeated American swimmers Annie Lazor and Lilly King to win the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. She also took silver in the 100-meter breaststroke behind American Lydia Jacoby.

Her record breaking performance in the 200m race broke a nine-year-old world record and put South African swimming back on the world stage. Prior to Tokyo, South Africa had not even had a female medalist since the start of the century, at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Due to Schoenmaker’s absence, the U.S. team could have an easier path to victory in the women’s breaststroke events at the upcoming World Championships.

Russia, who had finished fourth and fifth in the 200m breaststroke and the 100m breaststroke, will also be absent due to the county’s ban over the Ukrainian conflict.

The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympics are a quadrennial, multi-sport event, but they feature only the historical territories of the British Commonwealth.

Some of Australia’s top swimmers will also opt to compete at the Commonwealth Games, instead of the World Championships this summer.

The Commonwealth Games will take place in Birmingham, England from Thursday, July 28 thru Monday August 8.