South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker is congratulated by rivals after winning the women’s 200m breaststroke in world record time. Photo: Reuters
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https://scmp.com/sport/article/3144049/tokyo-olympics-five-new-stars-who-have-lit-2020-games Sport
Tokyo Olympics: five new stars who have lit up the 2020 Games
- It’s not always the big names who steal the spotlight – the past two weeks have seen a number of new faces shine on the world stage
- Swimming, boxing, track and field and diving have provided the stage for a new generation of world-class athletes to thrive
Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs emerged from nowhere to be crowned fastest man on earth at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Reuters
The Olympics spotlight mostly falls on the biggest names in sport such as Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles or Elaine Thompson-Herah. However, the Games also presents new stars with the chance to emerge into the world’s gaze and Tokyo is proving to be no exception. Here are five new stars who shone at the Tokyo Olympics.
Tatjana Schoenmaker (South Africa, swimming)
South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, 24, took the pool by storm when she broke the 200m breaststroke world record, bursting into tears after it dawned upon her that she won gold. In her impressive debut at the Olympics, she earlier clinched silver in the 100m breaststroke.
Schoenmaker’s achievement is a significant one for her country given that no South African female swimmer had qualified for Rio in 2016. Five years later, she became South African’s golden sensation.
“I feel like it really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Schoenmaker told The Washington Post. “We were saying before the medals, ‘Did we just swim?’”
Schoenmaker hopes her success serves as an inspiration to other South African female swimmers. “It might be an all-girls team next … hopefully, we inspire the next girls to really push through and have the patience,” she said.
Matty Lee (Great Britain, diving)
When it comes to popular British divers, Tom Daley is the name that comes to mind. But Tokyo has also given a chance for Matty Lee, his 23-year-old 10m synchronised diving partner, to shine too.
The duo secured the gold medal after executing a tough dive – a front 4½ somersault effort in tucked position – to end China’s dominance of the event since 2000. With a total score of 471.81, they finished just 1.23 points ahead of the Chinese silver medallists.
For Lee, seizing a gold medal at his first Olympics was a stunning feat. But to become an Olympian champion with his childhood idol was unimaginable. Lee first met Daley when he was nine, pestering the now 27-year-old for photos.
“I ran up to Tom as a fan to ask him for a photo, 12 years on we achieved the greatest achievement in sport together,” Lee said on an Instagram post.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Italy, athletics)
Italy’s Texas-born Lamont Marvell Jacobs rewrote history when he won gold in the 100m sprint. Running out of the shadows, Jacobs sped into the post-Usain Bolt era and was crowned the sprint king at 9.80 seconds. The fastest man in the world is now Italian.
Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs crosses the final line first to win the Tokyo Olympics men’s 100m final. Photo: Reuters
The 26-year-old’s achievement shocked the track and field world because no one had seen him coming. Neither did Jacobs.
“My real dream is to arrive here and run a final. And we run a final, and we win a medal. It’s amazing … I think I need four or five years to realise and understand what’s happening,” he told The Washington Post.
Ahmed Hafnaoui (Tunisia, swimming)
Ahmed Hafnaoui swam the slowest time in qualifying for the men’s 400m freestyle final. Few expected much from him when it came to the crunch. What came next left his rivals and the swimming world in shock. The 18-year-old touched the wall 0.16 of a second faster than Australia’s Jack McLoughlin to take gold, becoming only the second Tunisian to win an Olympic swimming title.
Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui surprises himself after winning the men’s 400m freestyle final. Photo: Xinhua
Hafnaoui was introduced to swimming at six after being enrolled in a club by his father, a former national basketball player. When the young champion stood on the podium at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre, he repeated the sentence many times, “I can’t believe it, it’s incredible”, according to atalayer.com.
Interestingly, Hafnaoui had earlier told Tunisian media outlet La Presse that he was hoping for his first medal at the Paris 2024 Games, seemingly writing off his Tokyo chances.
Sena Irie (Japan, boxing)
On home soil, Sena Irie delivered a historic win for Japan by being the first female boxer from her country to win gold at the Olympics. Victory did not come easy for this young boxer in the gold medal bout of the women’s featherweight 54-to-57kg division. Irie went up against the Philippines’ overwhelming favourite Nesthy Petecio, coming out on top after a dogfight in the third round.
Sena Irie became Japan’s new star after winning gold in boxing. Photo: Reuters
To Irie, the victory was unreal. “I’ve pinched my cheek to make sure I wasn’t dreaming so many times,” she told the Japan Times. Hoping to inspire the younger generation with her win, she said: “I am not athletically talented … but hopefully I was able to deliver the message that you can earn something big with your own hard work.”
Despite her achievements, Irie plans to hang up her gloves after graduating from Nippon Sport Science University. “I want to crown my career with a triumph so I’m going to finish my boxing career when I’m done with university,” she said. “I love video games, so it would be great if I get hired by a gaming company.”