By now, the fact that Pieter Coetzé won three gold medals at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games is no longer news; what many don't know is the planning that went into it.
Nothing but nothing just happened at the Games. From now until 2028, there is only one goal that matters. That is to ensure that Coetzé wins medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That is why it was important for Coetzé to experiment in Glasgow to see what works and what doesn't.
Last year, Coetzé won the 100m backstroke at the World Championships. Tuks's head swimming coach, Rocco Meiring, doesn't mince words about what it will take for him to achieve the same at the Olympic Games.
"It's going to take a world record to win the 100m backstroke. At this stage, three swimmers have a realistic chance of doing it. Pieter is one, but there could be more who can do it by 2028. Last year's 100m backstroke final was one of the fastest in the history of the sport."
"At the Commonwealth Games we looked at the bigger picture. Let's say South Africa's 4x100m mixed relay and the men's 4x100m medley relay qualify for the 2028 Games at next year's World Championships.
"Pieter will have to repeat the performance he delivered in the individual backstroke event in the relays. We needed to know whether he could do so. Therefore, I told Pieter to go for it every time he swam. What he achieved was a pleasant surprise. It definitely gave him confidence for the future."
For the record, in the semifinals of the 100 m backstroke, Coetzé swam 52.20s. Forty minutes later, in the 4x100m mixed medley relay, his time was 51.98s. The next evening, in the backstroke final, he swam 51.77s, and in the final of the men's 4x100m medley relay, 51.71s. The world record is 51.60s.
The Tuks psychology student beat Luke Greenbank in the 200m backstroke final. The Briton won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Once again, Meiring and Coetzé experimented.
"In the 50m backstroke, Pieter came very close to swimming a best time. That proved to me that he has speed. That's why I told him to go out fast in the 200m backstroke heats. It doesn't have to be flat out. I want to know how he feels when he does it. He was okay.
"That's why I wanted him to go all out in the finals to put the pressure on the other swimmers. I made it clear to Pieter that if he decided to do it, he had to commit fully. No half measures. That's what he did.
"Towards the end, he was struggling, but it didn't matter. The other swimmers couldn't catch him. As for the 2028 Games, the plan is for Pieter to shave almost 1.5 seconds off his 200m backstroke time. He'll have to do that if he wants to podium."
Coetzé's best time in the 200m backstroke is 1:53.36. It is one of the seven fastest on the all-time list. The world record is 1:51.92.