The successes of Pieter Coetzé last year has provided renewed hope that South African swimming might be able to deliver its greatest Olympic performance come Los Angeles 2028.
Coetzé won three backstroke medals at the world championships in Singapore last year — 100m gold and silver in the 200m and 50m.
And with the 50m event being added to the Games roster for the upcoming showpiece in the US, Coetzé has a chance of winning three individual medals off the bat.
Only one South African swimmer has won three medals at a single Olympics, and that was freestyle king Roland Schoeman at Athens 2004, taking gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay, 100m freestyle silver and 50m freestyle bronze.
Schoeman’s relay teammate, Ryk Neethling, ended fourth in the 100m freestyle, with third-placed Australian Ian Thorpe denying South Africa what would have been a record fourth swimming medal.
South Africa has never won more than three Olympic swimming medals at a Games. In addition to Greece, Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh bagged three gongs at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and Penny Heyns and Marianne Kriel were the first to achieve the feat at Atlanta 1996.
The two women stars were also part of a 4x100m medley relay team that finished fourth.
But with Coetzé flying at the top of the world, the hope for a fourth medal — if not a fifth or a sixth — suddenly becomes more realistic.
Swimming South Africa is pushing relays to see if the country can win what would be its fourth swimming relay medal (they won the women’s 4x100m freestyle bronze in 1928 and 1956).
Last year Coetzé became the second-fastest South African in the 100m freestyle when he clocked 47.88 sec in the first leg of the relay at the World Student Games in Germany, just 0.09 sec off Lyndon Ferns’s national record from 2009.
Guy Brooks went 47.95 in the final leg.
I’ve been speaking to Pieter and he’s been pressing me in a friendly way to improve my 100m freestyle to get into the top four for the relays for the Olympics.
— Kris Mihaylov
Coetzé is eager to push the relay, having conversations with other hopefuls for the team, including Kris Mihaylov, who won the 200m butterfly gold at the under-20 world championships last year.
“I’ve been speaking to Pieter and he’s been pressing me in a friendly way to improve my 100m freestyle to get into the top four for the relays for the Olympics,” said Mihaylov.
Coetzé has even more relays options — there’s the men’s and mixed 4x100m medley.
The relay teams will get their first real taste of action at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that kick off in late July.
Two weeks later they’ll dive in again at the Pan Pacific championships in Irvine, California, next door to Los Angeles.
But over and above Coetzé and the relay options, there are also a few other individuals who could rise to the top.
Kaylene Corbett won the world championship bronze in the 200m breaststroke, but Rebecca Meder is another contender in that event.
Erin Gallagher made the 50m butterfly final at the world championships.
Lara van Niekerk, the double Commonwealth Games breaststroke champion from 2022, is slowly rebuilding herself after struggling with injuries and illnesses.
Her 100m breaststroke time from four years ago would have won her silver behind Tatjana Smith at the Paris Olympics.
If she regains her form she too can challenge for a spot or two on individual and relay podiums.
Breaststroker Chris Smith, who broke the junior 50m breaststroke world short-course record in 2024, ended sixth in the 50m breaststroke at the 2025 world championships.
If he can lower his times in the 100m breaststroke he could lift the hopes of the men’s and mixed medley relays.
Veteran Le Clos, the Olympic 200m butterfly champion from 2012, is still in the water. If he can keep his butterfly and freestyle competitive he could form part of the relays.
And there are others in the wings, though they’ll have to get faster.
The class of 2028 has huge potential.
Four years ago the group preparing for 2024 looked so promising, but in the end only Smith delivered in France.
Even so, the pool of talent available right now is a great place to start.
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