Winning medals at international events is almost second nature to 21-year-old Pieter Coetzé. A quick glance at his World Aquatics profile will show that he has already won 23 medals (12 gold, 7 silver, and 4 bronze).
A definite highlight was the gold, silver and bronze he won at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, as well as the bronze medal he won at the World Championships in Doha last year. He also holds 17 Swimming World Cup medals and 5 Junior World Championship medals to his name.
It can now be almost predicted that he will win two or three medals at the FISA World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr in the next four days. This morning, he was a member of the South African 4x100m freestyle relay team that qualified for the finals.
Tomorrow, the first-year Tuks psychology student will compete in the 100m backstroke. According to the start list statistics, Coetzé is the fastest swimmer in the event. In the 50m backstroke, he is the second fastest. He will, unfortunately, not compete in the 200m backstroke as he will also be competing in the World Championships in Singapore, which start next weekend.
The time difference between Germany and Singapore is six hours. According to TuksSwem head coach Rocco Meiring, Coetzé must have sufficient time to acclimatise. Therefore, he will miss out on competing in the 200 m backstroke.
Coetzé is often referred to as a true competitor. Someone who likes to test himself against the best. When asked if this is the case, the Tuks swimmer replied, "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."
In an interview earlier this year, Coetzé mentioned that when it comes to pure swimming, he is one of the fastest. Asked to explain, he said, "It's not me saying that. Many coaches from around the world have made the observation.
"According to them, there are few swimmers who can keep up with me when I swim. It's with the underwater technique and the turns that I lose time. I could see that clearly when I watched last year's videos of the Olympic 100 and 200-metre backstroke finals. The underwater technique doesn't come naturally to me, but I've put in a lot of effort to improve it. I am better at it now."
The 200, 100, or 50 metre backstroke - which one does he prefer?
"You could say the 200m backstroke is my best event, but I will always compete in the 100 and 50 metres. Remember, I come from a sprint background."
Tuks's Hannah Pearse advanced to the semifinals of the 200m backstroke in the World University Games heats this morning, swimming a time of 2:11.80. Her time was the seventh fastest in the heats and only 0.07 seconds slower than her personal best.