Pieter Coetzé torpedoed the last lap of the 200m backstroke to land SA’s first medal of the world championships in Doha on Friday night, taking bronze in the 200m backstroke.
The 19-year-old, in lane eight, was last coming out of the final turn, but he had kept enough gas in the tank to motor the last 50 metres in 28.67sec — faster than all his rivals in the field.
Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez won in 1min 55.30sec, ahead of Roman Mityukov of Switzerland in 1:55.40.
Coetzé touched in a 1:55.99 personal best, just 22-hundredths of a second in front of American Jack Aikins.
The Tuks swimmer had missed the podium in the 100m backstroke, but he made no mistake this time around.
“I was a bit disappointed with the 100 and I decided to just trust my body and let it happen and pretty unexpected, so very happy.”
Chad Le Clos won his 100m butterfly semifinal to book his spot in Saturday’s final.
But his 51.70sec winning time was only fifth-fastest overall, with four competitors in the other semifinal going quicker, led by Diogo Matos Ribeiro of Portugal in 51.30.
Jakub Majerski of Poland was second in 51.33 with Austria’s Simon Bucher third in 51.39 and Spaniard Mario Molla Yanes fourth in 51.48.
Le Clos’ national record from 2015 stands at 50.56, but this decade his best time so far was the 51.37 he managed at the national championships last year.
His next best time was 51.61, which he swam at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he missed a medal.
Le Clos, who has won two 100m ’fly world titles, joined coach Dirk Lange straight after that and has made the 100m butterfly his premier event — Saturday will be the perfect time to showcase the work they’ve done.
“I’m going to need something special ... to bring back that medal, that gold if possible,” Le Clos said, pointing out his goal had been to make the top five.
“It’s a tough field with guys who’ve been better than me in the past few years. This is actually a massive improvement for me,” added the veteran, predicting he would need to drop half-a-second to make the podium.
Matthew Sates, ended fifth in the same semifinal behind Le Clos in 51.99, which ranked him 10th overall, two spots short of a place in the final.
Erin Gallagher qualified for her second final of the championships, finishing third in her 50m butterfly semifinal in 25.86, which will seed her sixth for Saturday’s final.
Hannah Pearse finished last in her 200m backstroke semifinal and 15th overall, touching in 2min 13.29sec, a fraction slower than her effort in the morning.
Swimming
Pieter Coetzé lands 200m backstroke bronze for SA's first gong of Doha gala
Image: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pieter Coetzé torpedoed the last lap of the 200m backstroke to land SA’s first medal of the world championships in Doha on Friday night, taking bronze in the 200m backstroke.
The 19-year-old, in lane eight, was last coming out of the final turn, but he had kept enough gas in the tank to motor the last 50 metres in 28.67sec — faster than all his rivals in the field.
Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez won in 1min 55.30sec, ahead of Roman Mityukov of Switzerland in 1:55.40.
Coetzé touched in a 1:55.99 personal best, just 22-hundredths of a second in front of American Jack Aikins.
The Tuks swimmer had missed the podium in the 100m backstroke, but he made no mistake this time around.
“I was a bit disappointed with the 100 and I decided to just trust my body and let it happen and pretty unexpected, so very happy.”
Chad Le Clos won his 100m butterfly semifinal to book his spot in Saturday’s final.
But his 51.70sec winning time was only fifth-fastest overall, with four competitors in the other semifinal going quicker, led by Diogo Matos Ribeiro of Portugal in 51.30.
Jakub Majerski of Poland was second in 51.33 with Austria’s Simon Bucher third in 51.39 and Spaniard Mario Molla Yanes fourth in 51.48.
Le Clos’ national record from 2015 stands at 50.56, but this decade his best time so far was the 51.37 he managed at the national championships last year.
His next best time was 51.61, which he swam at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he missed a medal.
Le Clos, who has won two 100m ’fly world titles, joined coach Dirk Lange straight after that and has made the 100m butterfly his premier event — Saturday will be the perfect time to showcase the work they’ve done.
“I’m going to need something special ... to bring back that medal, that gold if possible,” Le Clos said, pointing out his goal had been to make the top five.
“It’s a tough field with guys who’ve been better than me in the past few years. This is actually a massive improvement for me,” added the veteran, predicting he would need to drop half-a-second to make the podium.
Matthew Sates, ended fifth in the same semifinal behind Le Clos in 51.99, which ranked him 10th overall, two spots short of a place in the final.
Erin Gallagher qualified for her second final of the championships, finishing third in her 50m butterfly semifinal in 25.86, which will seed her sixth for Saturday’s final.
Hannah Pearse finished last in her 200m backstroke semifinal and 15th overall, touching in 2min 13.29sec, a fraction slower than her effort in the morning.
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Double trouble for Matthew Sates as he fades at world swimming champs
Pieter Coetzé sneaks into his second final of the Doha world champs
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