How Tatjana Smith’s father Rene Schoenmaker sacrificed everything for her to succeed

Schoenmaker recalls prioritizing his daughter’s dreams above all else, even at the expense of family time, including forgoing vacations for 15 years.

Today, his daughter retires from swimming with an impressive haul of four Olympic medals- two gold and two silver.

Schoemaker and his family are in France to celebrate and support the golden girl of South African swimming.

"As a family we didn't go on holiday for 15 years because there was no money. We put it all to swimming and to try and get them through education and swimming and everything, so we didn't go on a holiday," Schoenmaker said.

"For the family that's a big thing so we spent the holidays together or we worked just to try to make the extra buck to pay for everything."

READ: Retiring Tatjana Smith bows out of the Olympic Games a legend

Schoenmaker is still amazed by his daughter’s success.

Despite her achievements, she remains humble, respectful, and caring towards others. According to him, she does not act like a champion and treats everyone equally.

"Words cannot describe how proud we are as a family in what she has achieved but particularly the person that she has become, gold medals are there but the person that she has become and what she is. The way that she looks at the community and the way that she presents herself, we as parents did a great job," he added.