Breaststroke queen Tatjana Smith claimed South Africa's first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games after a speedy finish in the 100m event.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker) secured South Africa's first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after coming from behind to take first place in the 100m breaststroke event on Monday evening.

The double gold dream is now on with Smith set to compete in her more favoured event, the 200m breaststroke.

It's Smith's first Olympic gold medal in the event after narrowly missing first place in Tokyo three years ago when she left with silver around her neck.

Smith came into the final as the favourite, having swum identical heat and semifinal times of 1:05.00, faster than any of her adversaries.

Her time in the final was a slower 1:05.28 which was only just quick enough for victory.

The final in the La Défense Arena in the French capital was less than straightforward for the breaststroke queen. She was slow out of the blocks and was fourth at the halfway stage.

However, Smith, who is a 200m breaststroke specialist, found her groove in the final 25 metres when it looked like she might miss out on a medal altogether.

China's Tang Qianting led from the get-go and...