Prize money withheld by Swimming South Africa after kit dispute

South Africa's most decorated Olympian, Tatjana Smith, has revealed she was fined and denied prize money by Swimming South Africa (SSA) after wearing her personal sponsor's kit rather than the federation's official gear at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.

According to Newsday (*), Smith explained that she had been told on the eve of her race to wear Arena kit, despite having trained and competed exclusively in Speedo – her personal sponsor, and her main source of income as swimmers are not paid by the federation for wearing team kit.

She competed in her own gear and went on to win gold and silver at the championships. SSA responded by fining her €46,000 and withholding the $35,000 in prize money owed to her, funds that World Aquatics pays to national federations for distribution to athletes.

Smith said she held off pursuing legal action for nearly a year, fearing it could jeopardise her ability to compete for South Africa, and only received the principal amount – without interest – during the Paris Olympics in August 2024.

She and her legal team are continuing to pursue the outstanding interest, which an SSA official reportedly retained as a “management fee”.

• This issue was first reported on by BizNews.