Pieter Coetzé shatters 50m backstroke world record to lead South African World Cup surge
After out-touching world-record holder Isaac Cooper and series leader Egor Kornev in Uzbekistan, 22-year-old Pieter Coetzé admits he was caught off guard by his sensational 50m backstroke victory.
South African swimmer Pieter Coetzé shattered the world record in the men's 50m backstroke during the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Tashkent. The 22-year-old clocked 22.09 seconds, cutting 0.02 seconds off the previous record set by Kliment Kolesnikov in 2022. Coetzé finished ahead of Egor Kornev and Pavel Samusenko. Despite a stacked field, Coetzé was not favored before the race.
He admitted he did not initially realize he had set a world record until a second later. Coetzé's performance marks a half-second improvement from his continental record set just six days earlier during the World Cup opening leg in Baku. His success leads a strong South African team as they prepare for the upcoming World Short Course Championships.
Coetzé will compete in the 100m backstroke finals later in Tashkent, targeting his African record of 49.11 and aiming to break the 48.16 world record.
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