Pieter Coetzé Eyes More Gold at World Cup Second Leg in Tashkent After Baku Haul
- Pieter Coetzé collected four medals at the World Cup opening leg in Baku, including two golds and two African records
- South African swimmers Michael Houlie and Aimee Canny also reached the podium in Baku, with both chasing top spots in Uzbekistan
- Coetzé sits third in the overall World Cup series standings as the circuit moves to Tashkent from 8 to 10 October
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Briefly News as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
Source: Getty Images
SOUTH AFRICA — South African backstroke swimmer Pieter Coetzé is carrying strong momentum into the second leg of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, which gets underway in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from 8 to 10 October.
The 22-year-old entered the Tashkent stop on the back of a four-medal performance at the opening leg in Baku, where he claimed gold in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events, silver in the 50m backstroke, and bronze in the 100m individual medley.
Coetzé rewrites African record books in Baku
His standout swim came in the 100m backstroke final, where he clocked 49.11 to beat Pavel Samusenko and break his own African short-course record by 0.24 seconds. The reigning long-course world champion over the distance also set a continental mark in the 50m backstroke with a time of 22.51, while his 200m backstroke gold came in a composed 1:49.64.
PAY ATTENTION: You can now search for all your favourite news and topics on Briefly News.
"I'm very happy with that. I just wanted to get the win and it's a good time too, so I'll take it," Coetzé said following the 100m backstroke final.
He currently sits third in the overall World Cup series standings with 55.6 points, trailing series leader Egor Kornev (59.3) and American Luke Barr (57.4).
Houlie and Canny add to SA's Podium count
Coetzé was not alone on the podium for South Africa. Breaststroke specialist Michael Houlie finished second in the men's 50m breaststroke, clocking 25.70, just 0.03 seconds behind the winner. Aimee Canny took bronze in the women's 100m breaststroke with a 1:05.16 effort.
Fellow South Africans Matthew Caldwell and Guy Brooks also reached finals in Baku and will be targeting medal finishes when competition resumes in Tashkent.
Beijing World Championships in focus
Beyond the World Cup standings, the back-to-back meets serve a broader purpose for the South African squad. Both Coetzé and Canny bypassed the domestic short-course national championships to prioritise international competition, using the World Cup circuit as race conditioning ahead of the World Short Course Championships in Beijing later this year.
The circuit concludes in Astana, Kazakhstan, after the Tashkent stop.
Source: Getty Images
Pieter Coetzé’s record-breaking Commonwealth Games run
Briefly News previously reported that Pieter Coetzé had also enjoyed a remarkable run at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he set four Games records in just three days.
His fourth record came in the 200m backstroke, where he clocked 1:54.22 to claim gold. Coetzé later outlined the lofty ambitions driving his career, pointing to Olympic gold and a world record as his ultimate targets.
PAY ATTENTION: Stay informed and follow us on Google News!
Source: Briefly News
