Pieter Coetze Breaks African Record With 48.21 in Men’s 100 Backstroke, Just Off the World Record

World Aquatics World Cup #2 – Tashkent

Just 24 hours after breaking the world record in the 50 backstroke, South Africa’s Pieter Coetze swam the 2nd fastest 100 backstroke in history, setting a new African Record.

Men’s 100 Back – Finals

• World Record: 48.16, Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 2025
• World Cup Record: 48.16, Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 2025

1. Pieter Coetze (South Africa) – 48.21
2. Pavel Samusenko (Russia) – 49.17
3. Jan Cejka (Czechia) – 49.84

Coetze dominated the men’s 100 back final, stopping the clock in 48.21 to finish nearly a second ahead of the rest of the field and take nearly a second off his former African Record time of 49.11 from last week.

Coetze jumped out to a strong lead early, splitting 11.08 on his opening 25 to sit a tenth ahead of Pavel Samusenko, who swam 11.27 to open the race. He only extended his lead from there, splitting 11.87/12.70/12.56 on his final three 25s to total 50 splits of 22.95/25.26.

In 25 splits, Coetze was only slower than Hubert Kos‘ world record on the 3rd 25, where he swam 12.70 to Kos’ 12.51. That was the difference maker in the final times, with Coetze finishing just five hundredths off Kos’ world record of 48.16 from the 2025 World Cup.

Split Comparison

Coetze will also become the 2nd fastest performer in history, overtaking former world record holder Coleman Stewart.

Top 5 Performers All-Time

1. Hubert Kos, Hungary — 48.16 (2025)
2. Pieter Coetze, South Africa — 48.21 (2026)
3. Coleman Stewart, United States — 48.33 (2021)
4. Ryan Murphy, United States — 48.50 (2022)
5. Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia — 48.58 (2020)