Cyril Ramaphosa joins elated South Africans congratulating Tatjana Schoenmaker: 'You're an absolute star!'

South Africans from all walks of life were elated after swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker captured the country's first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, at the same time smashing the 200m women's breaststroke record on Friday.

Schoenmaker was in disbelief after shattering the eight-year record with her time of 2:18.95, saying the superb winning feel was "indescribable".

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tweeted Schoenmaker saying, "You're an absolute star."

Fellow South Africans were also swept up in the current of emotion, as politicians, personalities and regular people paid homage to Schoenmaker's incredible exploits at what has so far been a tough Games for Team SA.

Team SA has so far accumulated three medals in Schoenmaker's silver and gold as well as Bianca Buitendag's surfing silver medal.

Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa and MEC for Education in Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi also hopped on board to congratulate Schoenmaker.

Popular talk show host and television personality Bongani Bingwa and a variety of sports personalities also climbed in, showing their delight at Schoenmaker's achievement.

The official Olympics twitter account encapsulated what every South African was feeling in post that simply said: 'All of the feels [heart and crying emoji]'