News24 | Coetze smashes African records in four-medal haul at Swimming World Cup

South African swimmer Pieter Coetze walks in during the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Baku.

Aziz Karimov/Getty Images

• Commonwealth Games hero Pieter Coetze claimed four medals in the opening leg of the 2026 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Baku.
• Coetze bagged two golds, a silver and a bronze in the short-course events, setting two new African records in the process.
• Michael Houlie bagged silver and Aimee Canny bronze to add to Team SA’s tally as they prepare for the World Championship in December.
• For more, visit News24 Sport’s homepage.

South African star backstroker Pieter Coetze claimed an impressive four medals at the opening leg of the 2026 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, this past weekend.

The Swimming World Cup, held in the 25m short-course pool at Baku Aquatic Palace, features a total prize pool of $1.2 million, excluding bonuses.

Coetze dominated the competition, winning gold in the 100m and 200m backstroke, silver in the 50m backstroke and bronze in the 100m Individual Medley (IM).

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On Saturday, Coetze unleashed the swim of his life to claim the men’s 100m backstroke gold, smashing his own African record when he touched the wall in 49.11.

The time erased his own time of 49.35 set in 2024 by 0.24 seconds.

The 22-year-old trailed Russia’s Pavel Samusenko into the final turn before powering home to victory as Samusenko took silver in 49.24, with American Shaine Casas third in 49.89.

“I’m very happy with that. I just wanted to get the win and it’s a good time, too, so I’ll take it,” Coetze said.

“I got some feedback, I’m going to look at the videos and tweak what I need to tweak, and hopefully, I can improve.”

SWIM OF THE DAY

Egor Kornev flies to a 22.23 in the Men’s 50m Backstroke 💪

★ World Cup Record
★ Personal Best
★ 3rd-fastest swimmer ever
★ 3rd-fastest performance ever pic.twitter.com/jw3j7j1BHD

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) October 3, 2026

Coetze came back firing after his silver on Friday in the men’s 50m backstroke final, which saw the South African pipped by Russia’s Egor Kornev, who set a World Cup record of 22.23.

Coetze and Samusenko tied for second in 22.51 in the 50m backstroke. It was a case of déjà vu as the same two swimmers also shared silver at last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

“I’m happy with it. It’s my best time so I can’t complain. It would have been nice to get the win, but Kornev is obviously a very fast guy,” Coetze said.

Then, in the men’s 100m IM, Coetze claimed bronze in 51.60 as American Luke Barr won gold in 51.57 and his countryman Casas took silver (51.58).

“I haven’t done IM in forever, so just wanted to see what I could do,” said Coetze.

“As most people do, I do a little bit of breaststroke here and there in training, and a little bit of fly and free, but had no idea what to expect and that’s a very solid time, so I’ll take that.”

After a quiet heat swim on Thursday, Coetze won the men’s 200m backstroke in 1:49.84, with Canada’s Blake Tierney (1:50.74) and Russia’s Dmitrii Savenko (1:51.10) taking silver and bronze, respectively.

“I took a long time off after the Commonwealth (Games), and the last time I raced short course was about two years ago. I’m glad I could start off with a win,” said the South African.

Coetze is third on the Swimming World Cup men's standings on 55.6 points.

Meanwhile, China’s Qin Haiyang edged South Africa’s Michael Houlie in a thrilling 50m breaststroke battle in the men’s 50m breaststroke.

Qin clocked 25.67 to just beat Houlie, who touched the wall in 25.70 and grabbed his first World Cup medal, with Kirill Prigoda of Russia third in 25.88.

The final South African to reach the podium in Baku was Aimee Canny, who earned bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:05.16.

Ireland’s Mona McSharry won gold in 1:04.21, finishing clear of Russia’s Evgeniia Chikunova (1:05.13) and Canny. Her compatriot, Rebecca Meder, finished fourth in 1:05.52.

Swimmers who finish on the podium in an individual event final and achieve an A standard time at any of the three stops will qualify for a wild card place in Beijing. This allows each Member Federation to send up to three extra swimmers to the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m).

The second leg of the Swimming World Cup Series moves to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, this week (8-10 October), before concluding in Astana, Kazakhstan (15-17 October).