2025 Worlds, Day 6 Africa Recap: Gallagher & Coetze Double Up on South African Records

by Mark Wild 0

August 01st, 2025 Africa, International, News

2025 World Championships

What a session for South Africa, the evening session kicked off with Pieter Coetze, improving upon his bronze medal from the Doha Worlds to win silver in the 200 back. He had already set a new national and continental record in the event in the semifinals yesterday, but tonight he chopped another large chunk out of it, as he dropped nearly a full second in a day, going from 1:54.22 to 1:53.26. His swim was more than just a silver medal, as it jumped him up to 7th among all-time performers.

A new African record alone would make the day a success for South Africa, but Kaylene Corbett, tying for third in the women’s 200 breaststroke, just made the day all the more better. We covered Corbett’s exceptional run of form yesterday, and her medal today, while not a PB, marks the first medal for the 26-year-old at the Worlds or Olympic level.

While both are noteworthy, so too is Erin Gallagher‘s 50 fly performance. Gallagher, who won the silver medal in the 50 fly at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The Tuks Swimming Club-based swimmer made her first final at Worlds last year in Doha, when she placed 6th in the 100 fly and 4th in this event (25.69). Tonight, Gallagher clipped .30 off that time to place 3rd into tomorrow’s final with a semifinal time of 25.39.

Her time not only rewrites the South African record, but it came within .01 of equaling Farida Osman‘s continental record of 25.38 set at the 2022 World Championships. Osman is a trailblazer in the event and as an African swimmer in general. She won a total of three medals in the event, collecting the bronze at the 2017, 2019, and 2024 editions of the meet. Osman is absent from this edition of the meet, but from 2013 to 2024, she made seven consecutive appearances in the final of the 50 fly, one short of Federica Pellegrini‘s record of eight straight finals appearances, finalling in the 200 freestyle from 2005 to 2019.

Other Day 6 Continental News

  • Mohammad Aan Hussain of the Maldives chopped a staggering .41 off his national record in 50 free, breaking 24 for the first time, going from 24.22 to 23.81.
  • Morrocco saw two national records fall in the same prelim session as Imane El Barodi set a new mark of 27.47 in the Women’s 50 Fly and Marwane Sebbata cut .05 in Men’s 50 Free to record a new best of 22.73.

Continental Medal Table

Gold Silver Bronze Total
South Africa 1 1 1 3
Tunisia 1 1

Continental Records

National Records

  • Benin
  • Cape Verde
  • Central African Republic
    • Leo Nzimbi: Men’s 50 Free – 26.23
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
    • Jehu Matondo Bosange Zozo: Men’s 50 Free – 28.15
  • Djibouti
    • Houmed Barkat: Men’s 100 Free – 56.22
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
    • Elhadj N’Gnane Diallo: Men’s 50 Free – 26.13
  • Guinea-Bissau
    • Pedro Rogery: Men’s 50 Free – 28.14
  • Kenya
  • Libya
  • Mauritania
    • Camil Doua: Men’s 50 Free – 25.76
  • Mauritius
    • Victor Ah Yong: Men’s 100 Fly – 55.76
  • Maldives
    • Amna Thazkiyah Mirsaad: Women’s 100 Back – 1:13.49
    • Meral Ayn Latheef: Women’s 200 IM – 2:44.34
    • Mohamed Rihan Shiham: Men’s 200 Fly – 2:25.20
    • Mohamed Aan Hussain: Men’s 100 Free – 53.80
    • Mirsaad, Hussain, Shiham, Latheef: Mixed Medley Relay – 4:40.23
    • Mohamed Aan Hussain: Men’s 50 Free – 23.81
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
    • Timipame-ere Akiayefa: Women’s 50 Fly – 28.21
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • South Africa
  • Tanzania
  • The Gambia
    • Ousman Jobe: Men’s 50 Free – 26.72
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
    • Zach Moyo: Men’s 100 Breast – 1:05.64
    • Zach Moyo: Men’s 50 Breast – 29.04
    • Damien Shamambo: Men’s 50 Free – 23.42

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