South Africa’s Pieter Coetze lowered the men’s 50m backstroke short course world record with a time of 22.09 on Friday (9 October).

Coetze's blistering swim shaved 0.02 seconds off the previous record of 22.11 seconds, set by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov in 2022.

Coetze is now Africa’s only world record holder. Competing at the World Aquatics World Cup meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the 22-year-old clocked a stunning time of 22.09 seconds, breaking a world record since South African swimming star Chad le Clos clocked the 100m butterfly world record (short course) in 2016.

Coetze’s swim is a significant one given the 50m backstroke will be on the program at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles for the first time.

How did Coetze swim WR?

Although he wasn't the quickest out of the starting blocks, Coetze recorded a 10.92-second split at the 25-meter turn before unleashing a powerful surge through the final stretch to overtake the field.

Instead of relying on explosive speed off the block, Coetzee uses a powerful closing kick to track down competing swimmers. On Friday, he proved his ability once more by outrunning Russia's Egor Kornev (who finished in 22.29) to set the world record.

The world record was almost half a second faster than Coetze’s PB of 22.51, which was set just days ago in Baku. The Tashkent meet is one of three 25m World Cup races.

Written by

Lakshya