2026 Commonwealth Games
- July 24 – 29, 2026 (pool swimming)
- Glasgow, Scotland
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MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – SEMI-FINALS
- World Record – 23.55, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2023
- Commonwealth Record – 24.04, Liam Tancock (GBR), 2009
Commonwealth Games Record – 24.29, Pieter Coetze (RSA), 2026- 2022 Champion – Andrew Jeffcoat (NZL), 24.65
GOLD – Pieter Coetze (RSA), 24.18 *Commonwealth Games Record*
SILVER – Ollie Morgan (ENG), 24.48
BRONZE – Ruard van Renen (RSA), 24.51
Pieter Coetze broke the Commonwealth Games record for the third time in three swims in the 50 back, beating the 24.29 he swam in the semi-final last night by 0.11 seconds with a 24.18 to take gold in the final tonight.
That was the second fastest swim of his career, ranking only behind the 24.17 he swam in the final at the World Championships last summer for silver.
He now owns four of the fastest five times in African history, and seven of the fastest nine.
Men’s 50 Back, African All-Time Top 5 Performers
- Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 24.17, 2025 World Championships (final)
- Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 24.18, 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 24.29, 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 24.32, 2025 World Championships (semi-final)
- Johannes Zandberg (RSA) – 24.34, 2009 World Championships
He moves up to rank 4th in the world this season, behind Russian pair Kliment Kolesnikov and Pavel Samusenko, and Xu Jiayu‘s Chinese record swim.
2025-2026 LCM Men 50 BACK
Kolesnikov
23.86
| 2 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 23.92 | 06/17 |
| 3 | Pavel Samusenko | RUS | 24.12 | 06/07 |
| 4 | Pieter Coetze | RSA | 24.18 | 07/25 |
| 5 | Oliver MORGAN | GBR | 24.36 | 04/18 |
Coetze made his move in the middle third of the race, pulling ahead of Ollie Morgan and Ruard van Renen either side of him and holding them off into the wall. He improved through all three rounds, posting times of 24.45, 24.29, and 24.18, all of them Commonwealth Games records.
He moved up one spot on the podium, having placed 2nd behind Andrew Jeffcoat in a time of 24.77 four years ago.
Nine of Coetze’s top 11 performances have come in the last two seasons, as he cements his status as one of the world’s top backstrokers. He won gold in the 100 back at the World Championships last summer, and silver in the 50 back and 200 back, setting African records in all three events.
He has the 200 back, 100 back, and 100 free still to swim this week, the first of which is tomorrow. He is the favorite in the first two of those, although Ollie Morgan is just 0.01 seconds behind him in the season rankings of the 100 back.
Coetze was joined in the podium by a pair of athletes who won their first Commonwealth Games medals last night in the men’s 4×100 free relay. Morgan swam in the heats of that race for England, and clocked 24.48 tonight for his fastest time of the three rounds, just off his season and lifetime best of 24.36.
This was a second major individual international medal for Morgan, adding to his European short course bronze in the 100 back from December. Four years ago he was not on the Commonwealth team for England, and had a lifetime best of 25.40.
Coetze’s teammate Ruard van Renen joined him on the South African team in that relay last night as they won bronze, and set his third lifetime best in three swims in the 50 back at this meet. He touched in 24.51 to move ever closer to Zane Waddell in the all-time African rankings.
