When Pieter Coetzé finesses his turns, underwater work and finishes, he is going to cause serious headaches in world swimming.
He dominated the men’s 50m backstroke at the SA short course championships in Pietermaritzburg on Friday night, winning in 23.80 sec, but he lost so much valuable time as he drifted into the wall waiting to touch.
“The finish was terrible,” said Coetzé, adding he was working on getting those elements right. “I was just waiting for the wall and waiting and waiting.”
He and second-placed Ruard van Renen (24.41) were inside the 24.58 B-qualifying time for the world short-course championships in Melbourne in December.
But Coetzé would surely have beaten the 23.75 A-qualifying time had he ended the race neatly.
Matthew Sates notched up two more victories to take his tally for the gala to five so far, adding the men’s 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly. His times were both B-qualifiers.
He won the freestyle in 1:44.26 ahead of Andrew Ross in 1:46.71, also a B qualifier.
Sates won the butterfly in 51.90, with Clayton Jimmie and Bob Fick tying for second in 53.72.
Teenager Dakota Tucker won the women’s 400m IM nearly 20 seconds ahead of her nearest rivals, clocking 4:38.16, a fraction short of the 4:37.54 A qualifying time.
Rebecca Meder won the women’s 100m butterfly in 57.93. Christin Mundell was first in the women’s 200m freestyle in 2:01.44 and Ruan Breytenbach took the men’s 400m IM in 4:19.84.
Kerryn Herbst touched first in the women’s 50m backstroke in 28.41.
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Swimming
'Raw' Coetzé drifts to victory while Sates claims two more titles
Image: REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
When Pieter Coetzé finesses his turns, underwater work and finishes, he is going to cause serious headaches in world swimming.
He dominated the men’s 50m backstroke at the SA short course championships in Pietermaritzburg on Friday night, winning in 23.80 sec, but he lost so much valuable time as he drifted into the wall waiting to touch.
“The finish was terrible,” said Coetzé, adding he was working on getting those elements right. “I was just waiting for the wall and waiting and waiting.”
He and second-placed Ruard van Renen (24.41) were inside the 24.58 B-qualifying time for the world short-course championships in Melbourne in December.
But Coetzé would surely have beaten the 23.75 A-qualifying time had he ended the race neatly.
Matthew Sates notched up two more victories to take his tally for the gala to five so far, adding the men’s 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly. His times were both B-qualifiers.
He won the freestyle in 1:44.26 ahead of Andrew Ross in 1:46.71, also a B qualifier.
Sates won the butterfly in 51.90, with Clayton Jimmie and Bob Fick tying for second in 53.72.
Teenager Dakota Tucker won the women’s 400m IM nearly 20 seconds ahead of her nearest rivals, clocking 4:38.16, a fraction short of the 4:37.54 A qualifying time.
Rebecca Meder won the women’s 100m butterfly in 57.93. Christin Mundell was first in the women’s 200m freestyle in 2:01.44 and Ruan Breytenbach took the men’s 400m IM in 4:19.84.
Kerryn Herbst touched first in the women’s 50m backstroke in 28.41.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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