Three years ago, the South African swimming legend Chad le Clos was surprised by the “Oom” who lined up to compete against him in the 50m butterfly during the South African Short Course Championships.
“”I am honest. I did not know who Pieter Coetzé was. Because he is so tall, I nearly called him ‘Oom’. I thought Coetzé was at least 28. What an incredible talent he is. And he was only 16,” Le Clos said at the time.
On that day, Le Clos won the 50m-butterfly in 23.72s. Coetzé was third in 24.14s. A lot has changed since then. The “Oom” has matured into a medal-winning swimmer who believes that he can beat anyone on a good day.
Le Clos can vouch for that. On Tuesday, he was beaten by Coetzé in the 100m freestyle. For the record, the Tuks swimmer is 1.97 metres tall. Freestyle is not his main event.
Le Clos has the utmost admiration for Coetzé.
“Pieter is a special talent. He has proved it. He will be a serious contender to medal at the Paris Olympic Games. I am not joking. If he can drop a second on his time in the 200m backstroke, he will be right in the mix.”
Coetzé became the first swimmer to win four gold medals at this year’s South African Championships in Gqeberha last night when he won the 100m backstroke.
The 19-year-old Tuks swimmer swam 53.05 seconds in the morning heats to dip under the required 53.74 seconds to qualify for the Paris Games. He was even quicker in the evening final, finishing in 52.89 seconds to take the title. It is a season’s best for Coetzé.
Coetzé also qualified in the 200m backstroke for the Games. His winning time of 1:55.85 is faster than the time with which he won a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke during the Doha World Champs in February.
In a SuperSport interview said, “I’m still learning how to pace it in the 200m backstroke. It’s tricky because you can do it in so many ways. Some people take it out very fast and try and hold on. Other people, including myself, typically save a bit for the last 100 or 50. I’ve been trying different things. I’ll find what works for me by the time Paris of the Paris Games.
Currently, Coetzé is ranked among the top ten in the world for all three backstroke events. In the 200m backstroke, he is currently the third fastest; in the 100m backstroke, fourth fastest; and in the 50m backstroke, sixth fastest.
It is hard to believe that this is only the third year Coetzé competes at the highest level.
In 2021, he had tears of frustration as he battled to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games. During the national championships, he failed four times before eventually qualifying in a relay event for the 100m backstroke. In doing so, he became the “poster boy” for what determination should be about. In Tokyo, he became the youngest South African male swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games. Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh were 20 when they did so.
Coetzé did not medal in Tokyo, but since then, he has gone from strength to strength, medalling at every major event he competed at. In Birmingham during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he won gold in the 100m backstroke, silver over 50 metres and bronze over 200 metres. In the same year, he won five medals (1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze) at the World Junior Championships in Lima. So far he has won six medals (4 gold and 2 silver) at the World Cup galas.