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Pieter Coetze is a Commonwealth Games swimming champion, the winner of the men’s World Cup Series, and a world record holder—but don’t expect him to boast about any of them.
He never would. The psychology student, named Tuks’s Sportsman of the Year on Friday night, remains as humble as he was when he first qualified for the Olympic Games at 16. He calls himself “grateful” when asked about his accomplishments.
That this is the second consecutive year he has been named Tuks’s Sportsman of the Year doesn’t mean he is any less excited about the award.
“This award will always remain a great honour for me, especially considering all the big names from Tuks who, before me, left a significant mark on South African sport,” says Coetze, who has also been named South Africa’s Sportsman of the Year.
The Tuks swimmer has no intention of resting on his laurels; he cannot afford to. In the first week of December, he will compete in the World Short Course Championships (25m pool) in Beijing. Winning a medal at these championships is still on his bucket list.
Two weeks later, in London, he will compete in the International Swimming League. He is one of 12 swimmers representing the Commonwealth team, which will compete against the USA, Europe, and the Rest of the World. Only the 48 best male and female swimmers in the world will compete.
It has been said that the men’s backstroke is one of the most competitive events in international swimming at the moment. Coetze agrees.
“Women’s backstroke is just as competitive. There is so much depth in every backstroke event. It’s almost a case where anyone could win at any moment. So, you can’t afford to make a mistake.
“I’m glad I took part in the World Cup Series (25m pool). The World Championships will be even tougher. I don’t doubt that whoever wants to win will have to swim faster than the times recorded during the World Cup Series.
“The event I’ll need to work hardest on is the 200m backstroke. I swam my personal best (1:48.08) at the World Cup meet in Kazakhstan. Last December, Hungary’s Hubert Kos improved the world record to 1:45.12. So, there’s a lot of hard work ahead. Fortunately, I know what I need to work on to become faster. Hopefully, I’ll shave a significant amount of time off at the World Championships.”
Regarding the 22.09s world record he set in the 50m backstroke in Uzbekistan, Coetze says it came as a surprise.”The plan was to try and break the world record in the 100m backstroke. But sometimes, things don’t go quite as expected. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to break the world records for the 100m and 200m backstroke as well."
Tuks’s Sportswoman of the Year is Kaylene Corbett. Nathan Hendricks is Student Sportsman of the Year, and Erin Gallagher is Student Sportswoman of the Year. Rocco Meiring is Tuks’s Coach of the Year (individual sport), and Dewey Swartbooi is Tuks’s Team Coach of the Year. Tumi Ramokgopa is the Newsmaker of the Year.
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