Nov 10 - South Africa's twice Olympic gold medallist Tatjana Smith is changing her allegiance to the Netherlands, the 29-year-old said on Tuesday, citing her Dutch heritage and greater opportunities for high-performance support.

• Smith, South Africa's most decorated Olympian, retired in 2024 but reversed her decision earlier this year with her sights on the LA28 Games

• "To South Africa, when I was a little girl, my biggest dream was to represent my country at the Olympics," Smith said in a tearful video statement posted to social media. "I got to live that dream and it gave me more than I could have ever imagined"

• Smith, the 200 metres breaststroke gold medallist in Tokyo and 100m breaststroke champion at the Paris Games, holds dual citizenship with the Netherlands. She has said financial difficulties had made her swimming career hard to sustain

• "This gives me the opportunity to explore another part of my identity and the heritage that I've never experienced through sport," said Smith, who also has two Olympic silvers. "The opportunity also offers greater high performance support and the potential to build a more sustainable career" REUTERS