17-Yr-Old Pieter Coetze Lights It Up With 1:56.92 200 Back

2022 SOUTH AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (RSA)

• Wednesday, April 6th – Monday, April 11th
• Newton Park Swimming Pool, Gqeberha, South Africa
• LCM (50m)
• World Championships/Commonwealth Games Qualifier
• Psychs
• Live results on Meet Mobile: “SA National Aquatic SNR-JNR Champ 2022-PE”
• Livestream

Olympian Pieter Coetze already made a name for himself here at these South African Championships, with the 17-year-old having clinched national titles in the 50m back, 100m back and 50m free.

Additionally, his lead-off time of 22.15 on his squad’s 4x50m freestyle relay qualified him for the World Championships in the men’s 50m free individual event.

Now on the final day of competition, the man logged another impressive swim, hitting a mark of 1:56.92 in a 200m back time trial.

Although splits aren’t available at the time of publishing, that time checks in as a huge personal best for the teen, as he had never before been under the 1:58 threshold. Entering these Championships, the versatile Coetze owned a lifetime best of 1:58.33 in the 200m back, a mark he produced at this same meet last year.

However, just one year later, he fired off a 1:56.92 to now rank as the 2nd fastest South African of all time. Only George Du Rand has been quicker, having clocked the South African national record with his 1:55.75 from 2009.

For additional perspective, Coetze’s outing here would rank him as the 7th fastest American 17-18-year-old in history, beating what the likes of Jacob Pebley, Carson Foster and Bryce Mefford put up when in that age group.

A time of 1:58.07 was set forth by FINA as the ‘A’ cut for qualification for this summer’s World Championships in Budapest, so Coetze has indeed booked his ticket for this event. Additionally, the teen now ranks as the 4th fastest performer in the world this season.