Pieter Coetze is a South African swimmer
Pieter Coetze, South Africa’s world champion in the men’s 100m backstroke, recently announced his decision to opt out of the University of California, Berkeley, to stay in Pretoria to concentrate on his professional swimming career.
Originally devoted to California in 2022, Coetze noted that he was pulled to the programme’s elite backstroke group.
“I had the opportunity to go to Cal, which at the time… was probably the best place I could go with all the backstrokers that they had,” he said.
However, after weighing the pros and cons, he decided in 2023 that staying in South Africa was the best choice for him, clarifying, “The pros of going didn’t really outweigh the cons for me personally… I felt like I wasn’t done with South Africa yet.”
This conclusion permitted him to continue training under coach Rocco Meiring, fostering a sense of stability and connection to his homeland.
Coetze’s preference has proven fruitful, as evidenced by his incredible performances in 2025.
At the World University Games in Berlin, he secured three medals, including golds in the 50m and 100m backstroke, establishing an African record of 51.99 in the latter.
He took this momentum to the World Championships in Singapore, where he nailed his first world title in the 100m backstroke with a new African record of 51.85, outpacing Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon.
Meditating on his success, Coetze told SwimSwam, “It’s like they say a happy swimmer makes a fast swimmer. I was happy here, so I didn’t really need to change it.”
His decision to stay in South Africa has not only bolstered his career but also cemented his status as the nation’s most decorated swimmer at a single World Championships.
Meanwhile, watch as Ghanaians predict top scorer for 2025\26 season on GhanaWeb TV below:
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