Van Niekerk has the golden touch
|Published
WINNER: Van Niekerk, right
When Lara van Niekerk touched the wall at the end of the 100m breaststroke final at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday night, the first thing she did was to look for Tatjana Schoenmaker.
She recalls: “I really thought it would come down to a touch, so I’m quite surprised touching the wall. I looked and thought, ‘Where’s Tatjana?’ I thought it would come down to the last touch and that is what I was preparing myself for.”
Smiles all around :) #TeamSA #B2022 #CommonwealthGames pic.twitter.com/ISyt1MKzsK
— Team South Africa (@TeamSA2024) August 3, 2022
The 19-year-old Van Niekerk had just held off Team SA teammate and the defending champion to clinch the gold medal at the Sandwell Aquatic Centre in Birmingham, with Schoenmaker winning silver.
Van Niekerk, who won 50m breaststroke as well, has two of SA’s six gold medals at the game, with the country’s tally up to 16 now with five silver and five bronze medals as well.