South Africa’s Pieter Coetze delivered a stunning performance at the World Aquatics World Cup meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday, setting a new short-course world record in the 50m backstroke with a time of 22.09 seconds.
The 22-year-old Olympic finalist and 100m backstroke world champion eclipsed the previous mark of 22.11, set by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov in Kazan in 2022. The record represents a career first for Coetze, who had come agonisingly close to breaking the 100m world record at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last July.
A Moment of Disbelief
Reflecting on the achievement, Coetze admitted the magnitude of his feat took a moment to register.
“Seeing that time on the board, it didn’t even click that it was a world record,” he said. “And then, like, a second later, I was like the world record was 22.1. So not many words to describe that. It’s crazy.”
Kolesnikov, the previous record holder and long-course world record holder in the event at 23.55, also competed in Friday’s race but finished sixth in 22.88. Russia’s Egor Kornev, who tied Australian Kyle Chalmers’ 2021 100m freestyle short-course world record of 44.84 in Baku last week, took second place in 22.29 after mis-timing his finish.
No Time for Complacency
Despite his historic achievement, Coetze insisted his approach remains unchanged.
“I don’t think it changes much,” he said. “My mindset normally stays the same, no matter what the race is, because at this level everyone is always close. The world-record holder was there, and look how close it was. So, no, you can never get too comfortable.”
The 50m backstroke is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, adding further significance to Coetze’s breakthrough.
Kornev Doubles Up in Freestyle
In the 100m freestyle final, Kornev once again claimed victory, touching the wall in 45.24 seconds — identical to Australian Cameron McEvoy — despite carrying a back injury.
McEvoy was full of praise for his rival’s potential, predicting even greater things to come.
“I think he’s going to go insanely fast in two months,” McEvoy said. “This is just a warm-up for Egor. So, I’m happy I can fight with him and be a good foe right now, but I believe that, in two months’ time, he’s going to drop something pretty special.”
The short-course world championships are scheduled to take place in Beijing from December 1-6, where both Coetze and Kornev will look to build on their recent form.
