Backstroke specialist Pieter Coetze was superb in the 100m freestyle final at the national championships. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
Teenage sensation Pieter Coetze came out on top on Tuesday night, outclassing a quality field which included four-time Olympic medallist Chad le Clos to win the men’s 100m freestyle on day two of the SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha.
Coetze, the only South African medallist at the World Championships held in Doha in February, had to dig deep to hold off challenges from Le Clos and Guy Brooks.
The 19-year-old star touched the wall in 49.12 seconds in the final, with Le Clos holding on to grab second place in 49.34. Brooks was third in 49.42.
“I felt very good in the first 50m, and I felt I was kind of falling apart in the end, but I’m just glad to get the win,” Coetze said.
“It always feels good to win. That’s the goal when I go out there, so I really had fun. It’s such an honour to race a guy like Chad, who is someone I’ve looked up to.”
Earlier in the day, Le Clos had been second fastest in the 200m butterfly heats behind Matthew Sates.
However, the 31-year-old former Olympic champion opted to withdraw from the final in order to focus on the 100m freestyle.
Sates went on to have things all his own way in the 200m butterfly final, winning gold in 1:56.99, more than six seconds clear of his nearest opponent.
There was a tight battle for gold in the women’s 100m freestyle final between Aimee Canny and versatile swimmer Erin Gallagher, who had broken her own SA 50m butterfly record the night before.
Canny completed the two-length race in 54.65, just edging out Gallagher who secured the silver medal in 54.88.
In one of the most dominant performances of the evening, former Youth Olympics medallist Dune Coetzee won the women’s 200m butterfly in 2:13.90, nearly four seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
After two days of competition, no swimmers had yet achieved the qualifying standards for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
But they only need to turn out in Gqeberha this week to be considered, and they have until 23 June to set qualifying times and book their places in the national squad.