Dan Gable, a former Olympic wrestler, once said, “gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts”.

It is unlikely that the 18-year-old Pieter Coetzé will know who Gable is, but he is undoubtedly taking these words to heart. Most mornings and afternoons, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist can be found in the pool at Tuks, training relentlessly.

His goal is to improve with each stroke. And for a good reason – in a few weeks’ time, Coetzé will compete at the World Short course Championships (25m pool), scheduled to take place from 13 to 18 December in Melbourne, Australia.

The Tuks swimmer aims to medal, or at the very least, contest more than one final. Judging by his results, there is a real chance of him doing so.

Coetzé has been swimming backstroke finals and winning medals throughout this season. In fact, it seems he is passionate about ever-increasing his medal collection. For this reason, he is nearly obsessed with giving 100% every time he trains. He calls it being totally engaged.

His commitment has paid dividends. During the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he won gold, silver and bronze in the backstroke events (50m, 100m and 200m). Then, at the World Junior Championships in Peru, he won gold, three silver and a bronze.

The Tuks swimmer was equally impressive during the Mare Nostrum Swim Series in Europe, winning five gold, two silver, and three bronze medals in the backstroke events.

According to Coetzé, since the World Junior Championships his focus has been to improve his underwater techniques. He is confident of gaining those very valuable hundredths of a second if he can improve his turns and start.

The 18-year-old reckons the 200m-backstroke could be his best event at the World Short Course Championships. His best time for the season is 1:51.36. It is one of the 12 fastest times internationally this season.

“I love the 200m-backstroke event as it boils down to a mix of speed and endurance swimming. There are definitely tactics involved. You got to pace yourself,” he explained.

Coetzé won gold in the 100m backstroke event during the Commonwealth Games. It is often said that it can be challenging to be competitive over 100 metres and 200 metres as a swimmer. According to Coetzé to him, it is not.

“I enjoy swimming in both the 100 and 200-metre events. My focus is to be at my best over 200 metres. Luckily the training my coach, Rocco Meiring, lets me do enables me to be fast over 50 and 100 metres,” he remarked.

When speaking to Coetzé, it becomes clear that he has the proverbial ‘old head on young shoulders’. Since last year’s Tokyo Olympic Games, nothing seems to faze him.

“The Olympic Games was my reality check. I was overwhelmed in Tokyo as everything felt bigger than what I had been used to. I aim to learn as much as possible from the older, more experienced swimmer. It gave me a sense of what international swimming is about. I am now calmer when I compete internationally. I actually enjoy competing,” the young star concluded.

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