“Never let your head hang down. Never give up or sit down and grieve. Find another way…” This was the famous words of Satchel Paige, an America professional baseball pitcher.

It is unlikely that Pretoria’s swimming star, Pieter Coetzé, would know who Paige is or even know of the quote. But last week in Doha, while swimming in the 200m-backstroke final at the World Championships, the Tuks swimmer epitomized Paige’s words with a heroic performance. He won bronze.

Coetzé’s coach, Rocco Meiring, ascribed his protege’s performance to having a winning mindset and big match temperament.

“Pieter was utterly disappointed with his fifth-place finish in the 100m-backstroke final. It left him with something to prove –  that he is good enough to swim against the best. Pieter knew he could not dwell on the outcome of the 100m backstroke. What happened, happened. He had to let go of his pent-up anger and disappointment. And he did so. What more can a coach ask for. I am lucky to coach a swimmer like Pieter,” Meiring commented.

Coetzé’s sister, Jana, admittedly a big fan of her brother’s pool heroics, said she could not be prouder.

“He deserved to win a medal. It is easy to self-destruct and feel sorry for yourself if a race at a championship gala does not play out as planned. Pieter did not let it get to him. That is what I admire about him,” she remarked.

According to his sister, Coetzé is in the sport for the right reasons. To him, it is not only about winning medals. Often, at galas, he would give away his medal to younger swimmers.

“I am lucky to have one of his Commonwealth Games medals. It is only because I have asked early enough that he keeps one for me. Pieter does what he does because he genuinely loves swimming. He is so confident in his abilities. The way he can get his body to glide so fast through the water borders, at times, on the absurd,” she said.

Few who watched the race last week would have tipped Coetzé to win a medal. After 150 metres, he was in eighth place. But then he started to up his pace. Powering into the third spot. It is possibly one of the best comebacks by a South African swimmer at a World Champs.

Spain’s Hugo Gonzales won gold in the 200m-backstroke swimming at 1:55.30, and Switzerland’s Roman Gonzales Roman Mityukov silver in 1:55.40. Coetzé finished in 1:55.99.

When listening to Coetzé, it is hard to believe he is only 19. He has got the proverbial old head on young shoulders. He is forever looking for ways to be faster. The 200m-backstroke semifinals are a good example. He nearly missed out on swimming the final by finishing fifth in the semifinal. Luckily, his time of 1:57.07 was fast enough to ensure he went through to the last eight.

“I tried something new by going out a little bit faster. The time is now to experiment a bit, to see what works and does not work for me,” Coetzé said after the race.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram