Swimming sensation Pieter Coetzé targets another world record

With one world record in the bag, backstroke specialist Pieter Coetzé believes another could be on the cards next week at the Swimming World Cup.

The 22-year-old swimmer made waves on Friday when he won gold in the men’s 50m backstroke final in 22.09 at the second leg of the World Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

He sliced 0.02 off the previous global short-course mark (set in a 25-metre pool) of 22.11 set by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov in Kazan in November 2022.

Coetzé went on to win the 100m backstroke final on Saturday in 48.21, touching the wall just 0.05 outside the short-course world record of 48.16 set by Hubert Kos of Hungary in Toronto in October last year.

Another world record in his sights

Coetzé felt he might be able to go quicker over the 50m distance at the third leg of the World Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan starting on Thursday, though he admitted it would be tough after executing his race almost perfectly over two lengths in Tashkent.

He did believe, however, that he could produce a cleaner performance over the 100m distance in Astana.

“At the last turn (in the 100m final in Tashkent) I was a bit far from the wall, so I didn’t have a lot of power pushing off, and in that moment I was like ‘mmm, I think I messed it up’,” he said.

“When I looked up and saw the time (at the finish) I was actually pretty surprised. I thought it would be a bit slower after that turn, so I know exactly what to do (in Astana).”

Raising his status

Coetzé, based in Pretoria and coached by Rocco Meiring, has emerged as South Africa’s best swimmer over the last couple of years.

Last season he earned three medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, including gold in the 100m backstroke, and at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year he bagged six medals, including three gold.

He felt this latest achievement, however, had raised his global status as he took another step forward in his blooming career.

“It’s definitely a different feeling to anything else I’ve accomplished so far. I don’t know if it’s fully sunk in yet, but breaking a world record I feel definitely does elevate it to a new level,” he said.

“I’ll take the next few days to let it sink in and regroup for the next leg (of the World Cup).”