Pieter Coetzé announced himself on the FINA World Cup stage in style, claiming a clean sweep of the backstroke events at the third leg in Doha last weekend. First up was the 200m backstroke. Coetzé claimed victory in 1:52.09 before doing the same a day later in the 50m event, winning in 23.13. The 17-year-old schoolboy from Cornwall Hill College then completed the trio of golds with victory in the 100m backstroke in 50.86, edging out highly decorated American Tom Shields in the process. All three races featured three South Africans in the finals. “I am very happy with my performance for where I’m at since I wasn’t going to compete at the World Cup and it was sort of a last-minute decision to come and race,” said Coetzé afterwards. He was particularly impressed with the way FINA handled the event. “Thanks to FINA for a really well-organised gala and a lot of fun with my SA teammates. I’m happy with all my times for where I’m at in the season and over the moon to get my first three international medals. It was special to get the triple in all three backstroke events, and I will definitely compete in some other events too in the future. The young Coetzé, who is almost 2m tall, is now internationally regarded as a future world swimming star and he has the potential to improve many world records, especially in backstroke. “I’m really excited for the future of swimming in South Africa too. Things are looking very good. Thanks to Wayne Riddin and the SA team for the nice trip and support. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have my coach Rocco Meiring join me this time, but luckily I could talk to him the phone and he was a big help throughout the meet,” Coetzé concluded.  

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