Pieter Coetze Demolishes 100 Back Commonwealth Games Record Twice On Day 5, Clocks 51.98

2026 Commonwealth Games

Men’s 100 Back – Semi-Finals

Top 8:

1. Pieter Coetze (South Africa) – 52.20 ***NEW GAMES RECORD***
2. Oliver Morgan (England) – 53.09
3. Ruard van Renen (South Africa) – 53.41
4. Jack Skerry (England) – 53.58
5. Matthew Ward (Scotland) – 53.59
6. Cameron Brooker (England) – 53.73
7. Henry Allan (Australia) – 53.93
8. Isaac Cooper (Australia) – 54.58

Pieter Coetze soared to a different Commonwealth Games document at this meet, setting his sixth of the week with a 52.20 within the 100 again semi-finals, then decreasing it by one other two tenths of a second to 51.98 on the leadoff of the blended 4×100 medley relay.

Swimming out of lane 5 within the second semi-final, Coetze regarded imperious as he received out to an early lead in 25.09, half a second forward of one other world-class swimmer in England’s Ollie Morgan, then closed in 27.11 to the touch in 52.20.

Just 40 minutes later he was again to guide off the blended medley relay for South Africa, one among two male leadoffs within the area together with Scotland’s Matt Ward. He was out barely slower in 25.18, however was three-tenths quicker on the second 50 to interrupt 52 seconds for the third time in his profession in 51.98.

That ties for the Seventeenth-fastest swim in historical past, and he’s now just one sub-52 swim behind Ryan Murphy and Thomas Ceccon, who’re tied for probably the most in historical past.

He lowered his newly-minted Games document within the 100 again with that leadoff, and extra was to return as South Africa held sturdy to win silver behind Australia, setting a brand new African document. That provides Coetze his third medal of the meet already, with a fourth virtually sure to return within the males’s 100 again ultimate tomorrow. He additionally now owns the 21 quickest swims in African historical past.

Coetze was simply 0.13 seconds off his African document tonight, going out 1 / 4 of a second slower however closing a tenth of a second quicker. He virtually precisely matched the splits from his successful time on the 2025 World University Games.

Split Comparison

Split	African Record, 2025 World Championships – 51.85	2025 World University Games – 51.99	2026 Commonwealth Games – 51.98
50	24.95	25.19	25.18
100	26.90	26.80	26.80

Coetze leapfrogs Xu Jiayu within the season rankings and now leads by 4 tenths of a second. Ollie Morgan, who ranks third in these rankings, is the second seed into tomorrow’s 100 again ultimate after clocking 53.09 within the semi-finals tonight.

 

Coetze set Games document in all three rounds of the 50 again (24.45, 24.29, 24.18), within the 200 again ultimate (1:54.22), and now within the 100 again semi-finals (52.20) once more on the blended medley relay leadoff (51.98).