Coetzé sets African record to reach World Champ finals

Pieter Coetzé booked his spot in the 100m backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore after powering to second place, in his semifinal on Monday.

The 21-year-old star had booked his place in the semifinals with a time of 52.80 seconds in his morning heat and then went quicker in the semis, touching in a time of 52.29.

That saw him qualifying third fastest for the final behind Hungary’s Hubert Kos (52.21) and Russian Kliment Kolesnikov (51.26).

Coetzé heads into Tuesday night’s final with the fastest time in the world this year, after claiming gold at the World University Games in an impressive African record time of 51.99 seconds, just nine days ago.

“It was good. I just wanted to make it back for the final and I was happy with the time and the swim, and to get second in the semis is a good result,” Coetze said after the semifinal.

He emphasized that his primary goal was securing a place in the final.

“I knew it was going to be fast… I’ve swum with most of these guys but the Russians are new to me. I haven’t swum against them and they’re also really fast, but I don’t really focus on the people I’m racing against. I just focus on what I need to do.”

South African, Matt Sates, finished 32nd overall in the 200m freestyle heats in a time of 1:48.45 while fellow teammate Rebecca Meder finished ninth in her heat and 27th overall in the 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:07.50.

🇿🇦Pieter Coetze delivers a stellar swim in the semifinals, clocking 52.29 seconds to secure 3rd place and set a new African Record! Coetze is officially qualified for the finals.🔥#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #worldaquaticschampionships pic.twitter.com/lsyPEDxL1j

— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) July 28, 2025