21-year-old Pieter Coetzé claimed South Africa’s first gold medal at the World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr this past weekend with his victory in the 100m backstroke.

His winning time of 51.99 seconds is a new African and World Student Record. For now, it is also the fastest time in the world.

It is incredible how Coetzé swam a speedier time every time he dived in. In the heats, his time was 53.34 seconds, and in the semi-finals, it was 52.18 seconds.

There is a good chance that the Tuks swimmer will win more medals later in the later in the Games. The swimming program runs until Wednesday.

His time of 24.50 seconds in the semi-final of the 50m backstroke was the fastest on Sunday, while he also qualified for the final in the 100m freestyle with another fastest semi-final time of 48.30 seconds, which is also a new personal best for him in this event.

Coetzé is a specialist backstroke swimmer, but he makes no secret of the fact that he enjoys swimming the freestyle when the opportunity arises.

He will, unfortunately, not compete in the 200m backstroke as he will also be competing in the World Championships in Singapore, which start this coming weekend.

The time difference between Germany and Singapore is six hours. According to TuksSwimming head coach, Rocco Meiring, Coetzé must have sufficient time to acclimatise. Therefore, he will miss out on competing in the 200 m backstroke, which is one of the last items on the swimming program at the Student Games.

Coetzé is often referred to as a true competitor. Someone who likes to test himself against the best.

“A lot of times when I train, it feels like I’m just an average swimmer. When I race, something happens. I’m different when competing than when training. I like competition and the pressure that comes with it,” he recently explained his onslaught during competitions.

In an interview earlier this year Coetzé was asked about his preferences as a backstroke swimmer and what distance in the pool is his favourite.

“You could say the 200m backstroke is my best event, but I will always compete in the 100 and 50 meters. Remember, I come from a sprint background,” was his reply.

– Another local swimmer from Pretoria, Lara van Niekerk, won the silver medal in the 50m breaststroke on Sunday.

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