Pieter Coetze of Team South Africa competes in the Men's 50m Backstroke Heats on day 23 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships on 2 August 2025. (Photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images) 
South Africa’s backstroke star Pieter Coetzé bagged three medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore to help South Africa to four medals overall.
Kaylene Corbett, who looks to have stepped out from the now-retired Tatjana Smith’s enormous shadow, secured South Africa’s other medal with a brilliant bronze in the 200m breaststroke.
It’s an overall improvement by South Africa in the pool from the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha where Coetzé was the only South African medallist after claiming bronze in the 200m backstroke.
Coetzé became only the second South African swimmer to clinch three medals at a single long-course world championship. Roland Schoeman achieved the same feat in 2005.
It was an impressive showing from Coetzé across the championships in Singapore, as he broke the African record in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke events on his way to his one gold and two silver medals.
The Pretoria-born and based swimmer was the only athlete to finish on the podium in all three backstroke events.
“It’s amazing. It’s something I always dreamed of,” said the 21-year-old star. “I can see myself making strides towards being the swimmer I always knew I could be, so it’s nice to see that I’m improving and getting there slowly. But I’ve always believed it, and a part of me had always known, so now to see it in front of me is amazing. I’m very proud and blessed.”
Silver medal performance
The star athlete went one better a year later in the 200m backstroke with a silver medal performance in a time of 1:53.36 seconds, just 0.17 seconds off the gold, which was clinched by Hungarian Olympic champion Hubert Kós.
Coetzé led from the start until the halfway mark of the race, going at under world record pace, but weakened in the second half of the race as Kós picked up pace.
The South African fought back toward the end again but the Hungarian touched the wall first.
The impressive South African broke his own African record again with the performance, taking nearly a second off the record he set in the semi-final the day before. It was also the seventh-fastest time in the history of the event.
“Coming into this, I didn’t really expect to go that fast,” an overjoyed Coetzé said afterwards. “This has exceeded all my expectations and it’s just a big honour to be in a race like that.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2227796935.jpg "Kaylene Corbett of Team South Africa competes in the Women's 200m Breaststroke Heats on 31 July in Singapore. (Photo: Adam Pretty / Getty Images)")
“I kind of expected to be out very fast. I could feel that I was moving at a high pace, and I knew that I would feel it at the end, and I did.
“But it’s a big PB for me so I’m super-happy with the time.”
On the final day of action on Sunday, Coetzé took silver in the 50m backstroke event to wrap up his best-ever showing at the World Aquatics Championships.
He finished in 24.17 second, the exact same time as Russia’s Pavel Samusenko, and the pair shared the medal, with world-record-holding Russian Kliment Kolesnikov claiming gold in 23.68 seconds.
“I don’t think I’ve ever tied in a final at this level, so it’s pretty cool,” Coetzé said after the race. “I’m very happy. I don’t really train for the 50, I train for the 200, so to be able to go down so far and win a medal in the 50 is amazing,” he added.
“Kliment went very fast. That’s an extremely fast time, so it was an honour to be in that race and hopefully I can push myself and also get below 24 seconds.”
Corbett shines
Corbett was the other South African to raise the country’s flag at the World Aquatics Championships.
The 26-year-old from Bloemfontein finished in third place, claiming a joint bronze medal with Russian Alina Zmushka in a time of 2:23.52 as the pair touched the wall at the same time.
Olympic champion Kate Douglass of the USA took the gold in a championship record time of 2:18.50, the second-fastest time in history, with world record-holder Evgeniia Chikunova second in 2:19.96.
“It’s been a really hectic year, and it just feels like it really came together when it should, so I’m just really, really stoked about it. I’m very, very happy,” said an emotional Corbett after claiming her first world championship medal.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2228315053.jpg "Leon Marchand of France competes in the Men's 400m Individual Medley Final on 3 August. (Photo: Adam Pretty / Getty Images)")
“I gave everything I had, and I’m just really proud of myself with that performance.”
Corbett was in the same pool as legendary South African swimmer Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker) when she clinched gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the 200m breaststroke, as well as silver in Paris last year in the same event.
“Even though the world record holder was there, even though the Olympic champion was there, I’ve been fortunate enough to swim next to Tatjana, so I know that those titles don’t always mean everything all the time,” Corbett said about her long-time training partner.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to swim under pressure next to her my whole career basically, so it’s really special to be able to win this medal. I just wish she was on the podium with me.”
In total, South Africa finished the championships in 11th place on the standings. America (29) and Australia (20) were first and second.
France finished in third with eight medals. The French could have earned more, but the star in the pool at the Paris Olympic Games last year, Léon Marchand, opted to focus on only a few events to better his chances of breaking the longstanding 200 Individual Medley record set by American Ryan Lochte.
The 1:54.00 record stood for 14 years, and Marchand did more than just break it, he smashed it with a time of 1:52.69, nearly 1.5 seconds off the time set in 2011. DM