SA’s Coetze wins gold medal at the World Swimming Champs


South Africa’s Pieter Coetze has won his country’s first gold medal at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore.

The 21-year-old bettered his own South African and African record set at the World University Games in Germany just 10 days ago, winning the 100 metres backstroke title.

He clocked a time of 51. 85 seconds, also the fastest time in the world this year.

World record holder, Thomas Ceccon, was second, five-hundredths of a second behind Coetze, while Yohann Ndoye-Brouard of France won the bronze medal.