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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
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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.
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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.
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“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?’”
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