SA's New Golden Boy

World Champs: Coetze Grabs Backstroke Title and African Record

- Wesley Botton

Winning his first world senior title meant more to Pieter Coetze than his record-breaking time, the 21-year-old swimmer said yesterday after bagging the SA team's first medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

Coetze won the men's 100m backstroke final in 51.85 seconds, slicing 0.14 off his own African record of 51.99 which he had set when he won gold at the World University Games in Germany earlier this month.

"Every time I break [the African record] I'm really happy with it," Coetze, a former World Championships bronze medallist, said after the race.