Tatjana Smith, Olympic gold medallist, on swimming for hope.

LeadUP Podcast

Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) is a top South African female swimmer and University of Pretoria alumna (BCom Financial Sciences, 2020), who became a hero to millions throughout her country when she won gold and silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In July 2024 she heads to the 2024 Paris Olympics with high hopes and heaps of humility.

On this episode, she chats to us about:

• How she discovered her passion for swimming in her teens.
• The support network that kept her focused on her purpose.
• What the Tokyo Olympics meant to her – and how it took her by surprise.
• Her state of mind as she heads into the 2024 Olympics.
• How her purpose is focused on giving hope to others.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Tuesday of every second month.

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications, with language and marketing services from Brightlight SA Communications.

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UP is gearing up for its third annual UP Giving Day which takes place on 22 July. Giving Day forms part of UP’s three-year Giving Matters campaign, launched in July 2022 and designed to raise funds for students in the 'missing middle' category. The campaign aims to raise R100 million over three years and has raised more than R82 million in new funds since its launch, providing bursaries and scholarships to more than 407 students and supporting various projects at UP. Let’s help UP to hit the R100 million target and make a difference in the lives of students who need it most. Donate today: www.givingday.up.ac.za