South Africa’s Pieter Coetze produced one of the standout performances of the 2026 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in the men's 50m backstroke on Friday.
After opening the series in Baku with a silver medal and a new African short-course record of 22.51 seconds, Coetze took his form to another level at the second World Cup stop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
There, the 22-year-old stormed to victory in 22.09 seconds, breaking the world record of 22.11 that had been held by Russia's Kliment Kolesnikov since 2022.
Coetze's swim also shattered the World Cup record and made him the only current African swimmer to hold a world record. He finished ahead of Russia's Egor Kornev (22.29) and Pavel Samusenko (22.35).
The achievement capped a remarkable run in the event. Just a week earlier in Baku, Coetze had shared silver in 22.51, lowering his own African record and establishing himself as one of the fastest backstrokers in history.