Coetze breaks SA record, Schoenmaker stuns Van Niekerk at national champs

Teenage prospect Pieter Coetze further established his tremendous potential on Wednesday night, shattering the national 100m backstroke record on the opening day of the SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha.

Coetze, who earned three medals at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and five medals at the World Junior Championships in Peru, took another step forward in his promising career by stopping the clock in 52.78 seconds over two lengths in his specialist stroke.

Well ahead of opposition

The 18-year-old prodigy broke his own national record of 52.95 which he set last season, finishing well clear of Ruard van Renen, who took second place in 54.56.

“To be honest, I didn’t really have any expectations time-wise so I’m shocked and very happy with that because it’s still very early in the season,” Coetze said.

“It’s a good start to the season and it’s getting me more riled up for the rest of the year.”

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Meanwhile, Olympic medallist Tatjana Schoenmaker ouclassed Commonwealth Games champion Lara van Niekerk to win the women’s 100m breaststroke in Gqeberha in 1:05.89. Van Niekerk took second position in 1:06.74.

“I think we have such an amazing breaststroke group… it’s always nice to have world-class swimmers with you in the race,” Schoenmaker said after the race.

“We’re also all from NTS (Northern Gauteng) so there’s never a competition where you’re not stepping up against world-class swimmers.

“I think that’s challenging on the mental side because you’re not always feeling great but then it’s such a good challenge to push yourself every time you swim.”