Pieter Coetze Breaks the 50-Meter Backstroke World Record

By Sports Unc · October 21, 2026 · the Oct 21, 2026 edition

South Africa's Pieter Coetze swam the short-course 50-meter backstroke in 22.09 at the Swimming World Cup stop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, two hundredths under Kliment Kolesnikov's 22.11 world record, SwimSwam reports. Coetze has made his name over 100 and 200 meters, and the 50 back becomes an Olympic event at LA 2028, with places partly decided at next year's World Cup.

Sources

SwimSwam, Kolesnikov on Coetze's 50 back world record

From the stands

Argue about the game all you like; keep it about the game. No betting tips, no referral links, no personal attacks on players, officials or other readers. Comments are public and kept until you ask us to remove them.