Commonwealth Games Champion Pieter Coetze Changes Mind About Cal

South African backstroker Pieter Coetze, a 3-time Commonwealth Games medalist, has decided to stay home and train with his coach Rocco Meiring rather than matriculating to the University of California in America.

At the time of his verbal commitment to Cal, Coetze planned on arriving on the Cal campus in the fall of 2024, as he would swim with his current club and coach in South Africa up until the conclusion of the Paris Olympic Games.

However, Coetze told SwimSwam today, “I thought about it a lot and I came to the conclusion that I don’t want to delay going pro and giving my full commitment to swimming by another 4 years.

“These last few weeks, things have felt more clear and I am following my intuition. I will stay in Pretoria and train at Tuks.”

19-year-old Coetze was a breakout star at the 2022 World Junior Championships, snagging 5 medals, including gold in the 200m back, and silvers in the 50m and 100m backstroke events.

But he’s proven his mettle on the elite senior circuit as well, topping the men’s 100m backstroke podium in Birmingham while also snagging 50m back silver and 200m back bronze at those Commonwealth Games.

Currently, Coetze is making noise at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, making his debut at the Athens stop which just concluded over the weekend.

There, the South African earned gold in the 200m back, beating out the likes of Italian Thomas Ceccon and Swiss star Roman Mityukov in the process. He also claimed 2 silvers in the 50m and 100m back events.

Coetze opted out of competing at this year’s World Championships.

Best Times in Long Course Meters

• 50m back – 24.36
• 100m back – 52.78, national record
• 200m back – 1:56.05
• 100m free – 49.19