World Championships, Day Three Finals: Pieter Coetze Maintains Summer Surge for Gold in 100 Backstroke
A little more than a week ago, South Africa’s Pieter Coetze enjoyed a breakthrough in the 100-meter backstroke, becoming the eighth man in history to break the 52-second barrier en route to gold at the World University Games in Berlin. It turns out that was just an appetizer for the 21-year-old.
In a blanket finish, Coetze walked away from the World Championships on Tuesday night with a gold medal in the 100 backstroke. Fighting off charges from reigning Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon of Italy and Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Coetze surged to the top of the podium with a personal-best time and African record of 51.85. That effort was enough to clip Ceccon, who touched in 51.90 and Ndoye-Brouard, who went 51.92. Hungarian Hubert Kos was fourth in 52.20.
Coetze was superb at the World University Games, where he won gold medals in the 50 backstroke and 100 backstroke, and added a silver medal in the 100 freestyle. The question was whether he could maintain his form during the transition from Berlin to Southeast Asia. Well, that answer has been suplied, as Coetze packaged a perfect race to deliver the highlight of his burgeoning career.
Coetze’s early speed of 24.95 placed him third at the midway point of the race, trailing the 24,90 of Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov and the 24.92 of Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan. But Coetze was ahead of Ceccon (25.39) and Ndoye-Brouard (25.37) at the turn, and that advantage proved invaluable in the closing meters. Although Coetze closed in 26.90, Ceccon came home in 26.51 and Ndoye-Brouard capped his race with a split of 26.55.
“It’s amazing to call myself a world champion in a field like that,” Coetze said. “I’m trying to soak it all in and can’t really put it into words…I’m over the moon. I don’t even know what to say. To win in a field like that, Kolesnikov and Ceccon, all those big names. I knew it was going to be a big race.”
At last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, Coetze provided an indicator that he would be a major factor in the backstroke events. In addition to placing fifth in the 100 backstroke, he was seventh in the 200 backstroke. A year later, he can be identified as a world champion and – at least for the moment – moving toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as the favorite in the 100 backstroke.
“I think I was very calm and relaxed going into it,” Coetze said. “I think sometimes you can be too tense and force it, but I was just super relaxed and excited and happy to be here.”
The world-record holder and gold medalist from the Paris Olympics, Ceccon’s silver medal marked his second solo appearance on the podium this week. Earlier in the meet, he won bronze in the 50 butterfly. However, Ceccon was not pleased with the outcome.
“I’m feeling all right,” Ceccon said. “Pretty happy with the time, but not with the position. It was a pretty fast race for everybody…The first 50 probably (could have gone) a little bit faster. The second 50 was really great, but the first 50 was a bit slower.”
By dipping below the 52-second barrier, Ndoye-Brouard became the ninth man in that club. The Frenchman came out of Lane One to make the podium.
“I knew I had this time in the heats,” he said. “I didn’t swim slow, but I was not at 100%, so I knew I had the time. Tonight, I wanted to do the good things – my turns, my starts. I focused on those things, and I did it.”
