Coetzé claims shock gold in 100m backstroke with record-breaking finish

Pieter Coetzé stormed to a surprise gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Tuesday, breaking his own South African and African record for the third time in rapid succession.

The 21-year-old Tuks student clocked a blistering 51.85 seconds — dipping under 52 seconds for the second time in just two weeks — to out-touch Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon of Italy, who took silver in 51.90, and France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who claimed bronze in 51.95.

Coetzé had arrived in Singapore carrying the world lead, courtesy of his 51.99 performance at the World Student Games in Germany last week — a swim that also set African and World Student Games records, and made him only the eighth man in history to break the 52-second barrier in the event.

Despite this form, the South African was not seen as a favourite for the title in a stacked final field. He had qualified third-fastest (52.29) behind Hungary’s Hubert Kós (52.21) and Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov, who posted a stunning 51.26 in the semis.

In the final, the leading swimmers were level with 25 metres to go, before Coetzé unleashed a devastating late surge, kicking strongly in the final 10 metres to touch first in a remarkably close finish, with all three medallists under 52 seconds.

Meanwhile, fellow South African Chris Smith booked his place in the men’s 50m breaststroke final with a strong swim in the semi-finals. He finished second in his heat in a time of 26.77 seconds, behind Koen de Groot of the Netherlands. The final is scheduled for Wednesday.