00:00As she came into the final lap at the Olympic trials, she was looking forward to representing
00:04her country on the world stage. But when she touched the wall and the clock flashed her time,
00:08a crushing reality set in. Tatiana Schoenmacher was one hundredth of a second too slow.
00:14The cruel irony was the 19-year-old had actually already posted a qualifying time in the 200-meter
00:20breaststroke at a previous meet. But when she needed to do it again, when it really mattered,
00:24the pressure was too much. Missing out on representing South Africa after coming so
00:28close was devastating. The country didn't send any female swimmers to the 2016 Olympics,
00:34and Tatiana was so disheartened on missing out that she considered giving up swimming altogether.
00:39But after some soul searching, she picked herself back up and she set her sights on Tokyo.
00:43Four more years of intense training and Tatiana was on a quest for redemption. This time she not
00:48only qualified, but throughout the days leading up to the 100-meter breaststroke final, Tatiana was a
00:54favorite, swimming alongside the formidable American swimmer Lily King. This is a showdown
00:58between the world record holder Lily King and the fastest qualifier into this final, the South African
01:04Tatiana Schoenmacher. But as the race came down to the final 50 meters, as all eyes were on the two
01:09favorites and Tatiana pushed ahead, she felt the American in the lane next to her catching up,
01:14which surprised her because it wasn't Lily King.
01:24Lydia Jacoby, the 17-year-old from Alaska where there's only one Olympic-sized pool in the entire
01:29state, had shocked everyone, including herself. She took home the gold and Tatiana had won the silver.
01:35Tatiana congratulated Lydia on her incredible win, and even though she was a little disappointed,
01:40this upset only made her more determined to take home the gold in the event she specializes in,
01:45the 200-meter breaststroke. This would be her last chance for gold in Tokyo. Through the first 100
01:51meters, it wasn't looking good for Tatiana. Lily King powered ahead, and it was looking like it would
01:56be yet another win for America. But as the race continued on, Tatiana gradually reeled her in,
02:01and she eventually pulled out in front. And as the two incredible swimmers powered through the
02:06final meters of the race, their strokes a mirror image of each other, there was no stopping the
02:11raw determination inside Tatiana. She touched the wall in first place, but as she stayed there,
02:16taking in the moment with tears in her eyes, she wasn't expecting what she would see when she turned
02:21around and looked up at the race results. And now she sees she set the world record.
