Pieter Coetzé paid the price for losing his direction in the 100m backstroke final at the world championships in Doha on Tuesday night, finishing a disappointing fifth.
The 19-year-old would have taken bronze had he repeated either of the times he clocked in the heats and the semifinals, but instead he resembled a pinball as he bounced off both lane ropes on the second length to touch in 53.51 sec.
American Hunter Armstrong also hit a lane divider on the first length, but he steadied himself to win in 52.68 with Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez second in 52.70.
Greek Apostolos Christou was third in 53.36.
Coetzé, the Commonwealth Games champion in this event and holder of the 52.78 African record, had gone 53.07 in the semifinals on Monday night and 53.32 in the heats.
He should be kicking himself, especially considering he was briefly in third inside the final 25 metres. But on the bright side there was so much he executed poorly that this should serve as a solid learning experience ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year.
Coetzé will compete again in the 200m backstroke heats on Thursday.
His housemate and training partner, Matthew Sates, booked a spot in Wednesday’s 200m butterfly final after delivering a powerful final lap to finish fourth in the first semifinal in 1 min 55.88 sec.
That ranked him seventh overall, but he will almost certainly have to dip below his 1:55.25 personal best to have a sniff of a medal.
Sates is also scheduled to swim the 200m individual medley heats on Wednesday, and in the evening he could have less than 40 minutes between the butterfly final and the IM semifinals.
Also in action on Wednesday will be Chad le Clos in the 100m freestyle.
South Africa’s first relay team will also swing into action on Wednesday, in the mixed medley heats.
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