Secret deal between Swimming South Africa and Arena under scrutiny following Tatjana Smith’s bombshell announcement

A secret deal between Swimming South Africa and international athletic and competitive swimwear brand Arena is under scrutiny.

The issue first made headlines when gold medalist Tatjana Smith revealed that she was threatened with a substantial fine and had to fight for the money owed to her.

On the eve of her race at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, she received a message stating that athletes were required to wear Arena gear.

She explained that as a professional swimmer, her primary source of income was her personal sponsorships and contract with Speedo.

Additionally, she had trained exclusively in Speedo suits and had never raced or trained in Arena suits.

“New and uncomfortable gear was the last thing I needed to worry about before trying to win a gold medal at the World Championships,” she said.

As such, she swam in her Speedo suits at the event. She won gold and silver medals for South Africa at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.

Instead of rewarding Smith for her achievements, Swimming South Africa fined her €46,000 (R856,000) for non-compliance.

To rub salt in the wounds, they also did not pay her the $35,000 prize money she was owed because of her performance.

World Aquatics paid medal prize money directly to national federations to distribute to athletes, and Swimming South Africa withheld these funds from her.

It was only after her legal team at Hurter Spies Inc. stepped in and took action that she received her money.

Smith previously said that it was not easy to fight Swimming South Africa as it could ruin her career.

“I couldn’t actually stand up because there was a chance that if an athlete took legal representation, they could be suspended from membership,” she said.

“That meant I wouldn’t be able to compete for my country if I got lawyers involved to defend my rights.”

Bombshell announcement by Tatjana Smith and the Arena contract under scrutiny

On 10 November 2026, Smith announced that she will represent the Netherlands in the next chapter of her international swimming career.

World Aquatics has confirmed that Smith has changed her sporting nationality from South Africa to the Netherlands.

This rocked the South African sporting fraternity as Smith is the country’s most decorated Olympic athlete.

Following this announcement, Swimming South Africa admitted it was wrong to withhold Smith’s prize money.

It also brought the agreement with Arena back into focus, which was a central part of the disagreement between the organisation and Smith.

Newsday asked Swimming South Africa for details about the contract, but spokesperson Mafata Modutoane could not provide these details.

“Unfortunately, we are unable to share our contract due to the existing non-disclosure clause with our sponsor,” he told Newsday.

Wian Spies, a director at Hurter Spies Inc., told Newsday that they had submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request regarding the contract.

This, he explained, is to see the actual underlying contract between Swimming South Africa and Arena. However, they have not yet received the contract.

The contract includes an incentive tied to swimmers’ performance, which should be paid to them. However, these details are also not known.

Modutoane told Newsday that eligible athletes have received their monies from this contract, but could not provide further details.

Spies said that this is why they want to see the agreement between Swimming South Africa and Arena, as it is linked to athletes’ remuneration.

Swimming South Africa, however, refuses to send Hurter Spies Inc. the agreement with Arena, citing it as containing sensitive commercial information.

“Sensitive commercial information is not a valid reason to refuse a PAIA request, as seen in the AfriForum versus Eskom case,” Spies said.

Minister of Sport, Gayton McKenzie, slates Swimming South Africa

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, slated Swimming South Africa for the debacle around Smith.

In an interview with Biznews, he said that Swimming South Africa is the worst thing that could have happened to this country. “They don’t know what they are doing,” he said.

He said that two individuals at the organisation have been suspended, which has happened because there is now accountability.

“Swimming South Africa is a disgrace. I can tell you that the current leadership structure at Swimming South Africa will not be there for long,” he said.

“I am in talks with swimming leadership now to make sure things are handled properly. I am dealing with Swimming South Africa and SASCOC.”

“We will deal with these inept and corrupt sports officials, like the ones at Swimming South Africa.”

Commenting on the debacle surrounding Tatjana Smith, he said Swimming South Africa owed her money that had not been paid before his tenure as minister.

“When I became minister, the first person I honoured was Tatjana Smith, and she received all the money that was due to her,” he said.