In the shimmering lanes of Singapore’s OCBC Aquatic Centre, Pieter Coetzé soared like a dolphin breaching the limits of belief. The 21-year-old South African sensation capped off a dream World Aquatics Championships by reeling in a third medal: silver in the 50m backstroke, to go with his 100m gold and 200m silver.
With that, Coetzé became the only man to stand on the podium in all three backstroke distances at these championships. It was a hat-trick of hydrodynamic brilliance.
Lining up in the splash-and-dash 50m final like a coiled spring on the edge of a tsunami, Coetzé had already sent ripples through the pool in the semifinal, clocking an African record. But he had more water to churn. In the final, he sliced through the surface in 24.17 seconds. another continental best—sharing silver with Russia’s Pavel Samusenko in a mirror-touch finish. Only world record-holder Kliment Kolesnikov was quicker, snatching gold in a championship record time of 23.68 seconds.
I don’t think I’ve ever tied in a final at this level, so it’s pretty cool. I’m very happy. I don’t really train for the 50—I train for the 200—so to be able to go down so far and win a medal in the 50 is amazing.
If the 50m is a cannonball sprint, the 200m is a chess match in waves, and Coetzé's versatility across the backstroke spectrum shows a swimmer not just riding the tide, but redefining it.
Kliment went very fast. That’s an extremely fast time, so it was an honour to be in that race and hopefully I can push myself and also get below 24 seconds.
With his triple medal haul, Coetzé matched a piece of South African swimming folklore—Roland Schoeman’s three-medal feat from 2005. But what made this performance more than a historical echo was the personal evolution behind it. Each swim, a personal best. Each touch, a new African benchmark. Each stroke, a step closer to a long-held dream.
It’s amazing. It’s something I always dreamed of. I can see myself making strides towards being the swimmer I always knew I could be, so it’s nice to see that I’m improving and getting there slowly. But I’ve always believed it, and a part of me had always known, so now to see it in front of me is amazing. I’m very proud and blessed.
Earlier, the women’s 4x100m medley relay team of Olivia Nel, Rebecca Meder, Erin Gallagher, and Aimee Canny it up the pool with a national and African record of 3:59.47. Though they missed the final by a fingernail’s width, the performance pointed to a rising tide of South African women ready to crash into global contention.
It was so good. A little before the relay, we were all just taking a little peek at the African record because we realised the group of girls we were sitting with, and we totally knew it was possible, so the fact that we got that was so awesome.
As the curtains closed on Singapore’s aquatic spectacle, South Africa swam away with pride and purpose, finishing 11th on the medal table, anchored by Coetzé’s heroics. While the United States topped the standings, Coetzé and company sent a message: the South African wave is building, and it’s far from cresting.
