Kaylene Corbett Named African Female Swimmer of Year

Breakthrough at World Champs Earns Kaylene Corbett Swimming World African Female Swimmer of the Year Award

Between the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker) outlined herself as one of many premier breaststrokers on this planet – maybe the best. During that stretch, Smith claimed 4 Olympic medals, three podium finishes on the World Championships and 4 medals from the Commonwealth Games.

The South African star forged a large shadow in her specialty stroke, particularly in her homeland. While Smith was her nation’s undisputed No. 1 breaststroker, Kaylene Corbett usually went neglected. Yet, eager observers acknowledged Corbett’s expertise, which produced a number of achievements on the worldwide stage.

Corbett’s largest accomplishments arrived in 2025.

One yr after advancing to her second consecutive Olympic closing within the 200-meter breaststroke, the 26-year-old Corbett earned a bronze medal in her prime occasion on the World Championships in Singapore, the place she tied Belarus’ Alina Zmushka for third place. It was a major breakthrough, and the efficiency made Corbett the simple alternative as Swimming World African Female Swimmer of the Year.

Prior to the World Championships, Corbett’s high exhibiting in a serious competitors was a bronze medal within the 200 breaststroke on the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was additionally the silver medalist within the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke on the 2021 World University Games. At the 2025 World Champs, Corbett took an enormous step ahead.

While American Kate Douglass registered a wire-to-wire victory over Russia’s Evgeniia Chikunova on the entrance of the sector, Corbett engaged in a dramatic end for the ultimate spot on the rostrum. Sitting in fourth place by way of 150 meters, Corbett battled previous Great Britain’s Angharad Evans during the last size and completed in 2:23.52, a mark that was matched by Zmushka.

Not shocking, Corbett was elated with the result. More, she was the lone African lady to earn a medal within the pool on the World Championships.

“I don’t think I have the vocabulary to explain how this medal feels,” Corbett mentioned on the World Champs. “I’ve been fortunate enough to swim under pressure next to (Smith) my whole career, so it’s really special to be able to win this medal. I just wish (Smith) was on the podium with me. It’s been a hectic year and it just feels like it really came together when it should. I gave everything I had. I’m really proud of that performance.”