Tatjana Schoenmaker Breaks the Ice With 2:18.95 200 Breast World Record

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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Tatjana Schoenmaker has delivered a new world record in the women’s 200 breaststroke, hitting a 2:18.95 to take gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Schoenmaker’s swim is an improvement upon the former mark of 2:19.11 set by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen at the 2013 World Championships.

Split Comparisons

Schoenmaker becomes the first woman to swim under 2:19 in the events and has collected South Africa’s first Olympic medal in swimming since 1996 when Penny Heyns topped the podium in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes with a 1:07.73 and 200 breaststroke with a 2:25.41 Olympic record.

Schoenmaker’s 3 swims at the Tokyo Olympic Games of 2:19.11 in the prelims, 2:19.33 in the semi-finals and 2:18.95 give her the 1st, 3rd, and 4th fastest swims in the history of the 200 breaststroke.

All-Time Performances (Sub-2:20), Women’s 200 Breaststroke (LCM)

1. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA), 2:18.95 – 2021
2. Rikke Moeller Pedersen (DEN), 2:19.11 – 2013
3. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA), 2:19.16 – 2021
4. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA), 2:19.33 – 2021
5. Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 2:19.41 – 2013
6. Rebecca Soni (USA), 2:19.59 – 2012
7. Rikke Moeller Pedersen (DEN), 2:19.61 – 2014
8. Viktoriya Zeynep Gunes (TUR) / Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 2:19.64 – 2015/2017
9. –
10. Rie Kaneto (JPN), 2:19.65 – 2016
11. Rikke Moeller Pedersen (DEN), 2:19.67 – 2014
12. Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 2:19.83 – 2017
13. Rikke Moeller Pedersen (DEN), 2:19.84 – 2014
14. Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 2:19.85 – 2013
15. Lilly King (USA) – 2:19.92 – 2021

Lilly King of the USA got onto the podium behind Schoenmaker with a 2:19.92 PB which marks the 15th fastest swim of all time while teammate Annie Lazor followed in a 2:20.84 for bronze. Russian swimmer Evgeniia Chikunova followed with a 2:20.84 for 4th place and Schoenmaker’s fellow South African swimmer Kaylene Corbett was a 2:22.06 for 5th place.

What makes this swim for Schoenmaker even more incredible is that 5 years ago South Africa sent 0 women to the Olympic Games for swimming while sending 11 men to race individually. Schoenmaker’s best time in the 200 breaststroke at the time of Rio 2016 Olympics was a 2:27.79 in the 200 breaststroke which means that she’s improved by nearly 10 seconds over the past 10 years.

By 2021, South Africa had qualified 6 women to swim at the Tokyo Olympics individually along with another 2 women who represented the nation on the 4×200 freestyle.

Tokyo 2020 South African Olympic Swimming Roster – Women

Schoenmaker led the women’s team into the Games as 5th seed in the women’s 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.74 and top seed in the women’s 200 breast with her 2:20.17 swim from April 2021. Schoenmaker made her Olympic appearance count and made her onto 2 podiums with a 1:05.22 for silver in the 100, followed by this 2:18.95 for gold in the 200. Despite the fact that America’s Lydia Jacoby defeated Schoenmaker in the 100 breast final, Schoenmaker swam the fastest 100 breaststroke of the Games with a 1:04.82 Olympic record in the semis.

To summarize, after sending 0 women to the Olympics for swimming in 2016, South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker will walk away from Tokyo 2020 with an Olympic silver medal, an Olympic gold medal, 2 Olympic records, and a world record. Schoenmaker’s swims also make her the South African and Commonwealth record holder in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Schoenmaker has become the first swimmer to break an individual world record at the Tokyo Games and broke the 3rd world record overall, following the Australian women in the 4×100 freestyle and the Chinese women in the 4×200 freestyle. Schoenmaker is now the only thing that stopped the Tokyo 2020 Olympics from featuring no individual world records which would have been the first time that occurred since 1952.

Even with 3 world records between Schoenmaker, Australia, and China, Tokyo 2020 is on track to see a lot fewer world records than have been seen in past editions of the Games.

World Record trends at recent Olympic Games:

• Tokyo 2020 – 3 (so far)
• Rio 2016 – 8
• London 2012 – 9
• Beijing 2008 – 24*
• Athens 2004 – 8
• Sydney 2000 – 14

*In 2008, special suits made partially of polyurethane were allowed, leading to a rush of World Records. This would continue through the end of 2009 when the suits were outlawed.