Schoenmaker elated for Corbett after Commonwealth gold: 'Sharing it made it more special'

Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker says she is more proud of bronze medallist and Tuks teammate Kaylene Corbett than her own gold medal in the 200m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games.

Schoenmaker defended her title by leading from start to finish to win gold for Team South Africa in Birmingham on Sunday evening.

The 200m world record holder touched the wall in 2:21.92, capturing her third Commonwealth Games gold medal.

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Following her victory, Schoenmaker looked up at the electric scoreboard and saw that her compatriot Corbett, who produced a strong final 50m, had taken bronze in a time of 2:23.67.

"I'm very happy, not as happy for myself as I am for my friend Kaylene," Schoenmaker admitted afterwards.

"I didn't care what my time was and where I was. I was just more excited for Kaylene, I knew she could do it and I wanted her to prove to herself that she could do it.

"Otherwise, I can't complain, I'm taking in the small wins. It wasn't the time that I wanted, but I gave everything in that race, I felt it. It was a hard race, I had to take the wins and find the goodness of God in that."

Corbett finished fifth in the 200m final at last year's Olympics when Schoenmaker made history in Japan. She also ended sixth in the 50m breaststroke this past weekend.

Schoenmaker, though, insists she could not have celebrated her gold with anyone better than Corbett.

"Every medal is special, I think what made it more special is sharing it with Kaylene... It was nice to have that moment with her."

Schoenmaker now turns her attention to her final Commonwealth Games event as she looks to defend her 2018 100m breaststroke title.

The heats are set for Monday (12:45 SA time) and Schoenmaker is looking forward to