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WATCH: Pieter Coetze’s Historic 51.99 100 Backstroke (Day 3 WUGs Race Videos)

by Sean Griffin 0

July 20th, 2025 News, Race Videos

2025 World University Games

Missed the second night of the 2025 World University Games? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. FISU is posting some of the race videos to their YouTube channel, while others are being posted by various users on X.

Watch all of the videos we were able to track down below, along with some quick highlights about the swims. For more detailed coverage, read our full session live recap.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – Final

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. Ai Yanhan (CHN)- 54.00
  2. Lison Nowaczyk (FRA)- 54.23
  3. Maxine Parker (USA)- 54.30
  4. Olivia Nel (RSA)- 54.32
  5. Julia Dennis (USA)- 54.36
  6. Kalia Antoniou (CYP)- 54.83
  7. Liu Shuhan (CHN)-54.86
  8. Iana Shakirova (AIN)- 54.92

China’s Ai Yanyhan took the women’s 100 freestyle gold from lane one, touching more than two tenths ahead of the rest of the field in 54.00.

Lison Nowaczyk took 2nd, swimming 54.23 to just out touch American Maxine Parker by seven hundredths of a second. This was a new best time of Nowaczyk who came in at 54.61 from last June.

Parker’s time of 54.30 was about a second off the 53.51 that stands as her lifetime best from the 2023 Nationals. She was 53.56 last month at U.S. Nationals.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – Final

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. Pieter Coetze (RSA)- 51.99 **NEW WUGs Record
  2. Will Modglin (USA)- 52.54
  3. Daniel Diehl (USA)- 52.94
  4. Jules Andre (FRA)- 53.89
  5. Mathys Chouchaoui (FRA)- 54.09
  6. Aleksei Tkachev (AIN)/Yuga Nishimura (JPN)- 54.42
  7. —
  8. Pietro Ubertalli (ITA)- 54.44

WOW. Pieter Coetze does it again, braking his own World University Games Record and setting a new World Leading time in the men’s 100 backstroke, touching in a lightning fast 51.99.

He came into the meet at 52.58, which he swam in Paris, and was the African Record in the event. He has now lowered that time more than half a second into the 51 second range.

Coetze’s swim moves him up to the 9th fastest performer of all time, just behind Hunter Armstrong‘s 51.98 from the 2022 World Championships.

The Americans, Will Modglin and Daniel Diehl also had exceptionally strong swims, both of them going new personal best times, and Modglin coming in under the previous WUGs record of 52.60 that was set by Ryosuke Irie back in 2009.

Women’s 100 Backstroke — Semifinal

  • World Record: 57.13 — Regan Smith, USA (2024)
  • World Junior Record: 57.57 — Regan Smith, USA (2019)
  • World University Games Record: 59.29 — Katharine Berkoff, USA (2019)

Top 8 Qualifiers:

  1. Leah Shackley (USA)- 58.97 **NEW WUGS record
  2. Kennedy Noble (USA)- 59.19
  3. Camila Rodrigues Rebelo (POR)- 1:00.72
  4. Lee Eunji (KOR)- 1:00.73
  5. Michaela De Villiers (RSA)- 1:00.81
  6. Federica Toma (ITA)- 1:00.87
  7. Ashley McMillan (CAN)-1:00.89
  8. Aimi Nagaoka (JPN)-1:01.08

The 100 backstroke was all about the Americans, with Leah Shackley and Kennedy Noble being the only athletes to swim under 1:00 in the event, both of them coming in under the WUGs record in the event.

Shackley touched 1st in 58.97 to break Katharine Berkoff‘s former WUGs record of 59.29 from 2019.

Noble came in 2nd at 59.19, also under the former record set by Berkoff to secure her spot in tomorrow’s final.

Portugal’s Camila Rodrigues Rebelo and Korea’s Lee Eunji were only separated by one-hundredth of a second for 3rd, with Rodrigues Rebelo coming out on top in 1:00.72 to Eunji’s 1:00.73.

Men’s 200 Butterfly — Semifinal

  • World Record: 1:50.34 — Kristof Milak, HUN (2022)
  • World Junior Record: 1:53.79 — Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
  • World University Games Record: 1:53.90 — Nao Horomura, JPN (2017)

Top 8 Qualifiers:

  1. Wang Kuan-hung (TPE)- 1:55.65
  2. Mason Laur (USA)- 1:55.77
  3. Adrian Jaskiewicz (POL)- 1:56.33
  4. Benjamin Loewen (CAN)- 1:56.71
  5. Claudio Faraci (ITA)- 1:56.97
  6. Keigo Fukuda (JPN)- 1:57.43
  7. Patrick Hussey (CAN)/Jack Dahlgren (USA)- 1:57.54

Taipei’s Wang Kuan-hung took the top spot out of the men’s 200 fly semifinal, touching in 1:55.64.

Wang got out fast in the 2nd semifinal, splitting 54.83 on the first 100 to take the lead by two tenths over American Jack Dahlgren faded fast, however, splitting 32.03 on the final 50 to Wang’s 30.69, which had him fall back into 5th place and barely qualify for the final.

Canada’s Benjamin Loewen was 2nd in the heat, touching in 1:56.71 thanks to his very strong final 100, which moved him from 4th into 2nd, splitting 1:00.67.

Mason Laur took the 1st semifinal, getting out in 54.30. He did not come back quite as fast as Wang did in the 2nd heat, but his 1:01.47 on the 2nd 100 was enough to keep in him in the lead by more than half a second over Adrian Jaskiewicz from Poland.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE –Final

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. Emma Weber (USA)- 30.61
  2. Lara van Niekerk (RSA)- 30.68
  3. Barbara Mazurkiewicz (POL)- 30.76
  4. Simone Moll (RSA)- 30.98
  5. Piper Enge (USA)- 31.08
  6. Shona Branton (CAN)- 31.18
  7. Iana Shakirova (AIN)- 31.38
  8. Chiara Della Corte (ITA)- 31.68

Emma Weber brought home the gold for Team USA in the women’s 50 breaststroke final, holding off Lara van Niekerk of South Africa.

This was about a two-tenth add for Weber, who swam 30.43 at the U.S. Nationals in 2025.

Van Niekerk has been 29.72, which she swam in 2022 at the South African National Championships.

Barbara Mazurkiewicz from Poland finished 3rd in 30.76.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Final

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. Jake Mitchell (USA)- 1:46.22
  2. Nikolai Kolesnikov (AIN)- 1:46.77
  3. Baylor Nelson (USA)- 1:46.81
  4. Giovanni Caserta (ITA)- 1:46.90
  5. Kaique De Morais Alves (BRA)- 1:46.92
  6. Marcus Da Silva (AUS)- 1:47.52
  7. Konosuke Yanagimoto (JPN)- 1:47.80
  8. Pierre Largeron (FRA)- 1:48.72

The men’s 200 free final went to American Jake Mitchell by a little more than half-a-second over Neutral Athlete Nikolai Kolesnikov.

Mitchell was out smooth, flipping in 4th at the 50 in 24.72. he stayed around that range, jumping to 2nd at the 100 where he split 51.60 (26.88), and then he dropped back down to 4th at he 150 mark with his 27.59 split.

His final 50 was the fastest in the field, coming in at 27.03 to make up a full second on the leaders and grab the gold.

Kolesnikov was also stronger on the back half, moving from 7th at the 50  (25.13) to 4th at the 100 (51.75/26.62), and then up to 3rd at the 150 (27.20) before finally finishing 2nd, splitting 27.82 on the final 50.

American Baylor Nelson finished 3rd, sitting in 3rd for most of the race, splitting 24.77/26.92/27.21/27.91.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Semifinal

  • World Record: 2:05.48 — Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023)
  • World Junior Record: 2:07.27 — Shin Ohashi, JPN (2025)
  • World University Games Record: 2:08.09 — Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023)

Top 8 Qualifiers:

  1. Alessandro Fusco (ITA)- 2:09.89
  2. Benjamin Delmar (USA)- 2:10.26
  3. Mak Sai Ting Adam (HKG)- 2:10.61
  4. Dawid Wiekiera (POL)- 2:11.15
  5. Riku Yamaguchi (JPN)- 2:11.59
  6. Joshua Bey (USA)- 2:11.63
  7. Lee Sanghood (KOR)/Ivo Kroes (NED)- 2:11.93

Alessandro Fusco won the men’s 200 breast semifinal for Italy, touching in 2:09.89 to be the only athlete to come in under 2:10 in the field.

Fusco swam in the first semifinal, taking the win from lane 6 ahead of Dawid Wiekiera, who was swimming in lane 7. Fusco led from wire-to-wire, splitting 29.30 on the first 50 to grab the lead by almost half-a-second.

He just continued to build the lead throughout the race, splitting 1:01.78/1:08.11 to win his heat by more than a second and earn the top seed.

Ben Delmar from the United States took the 2nd semifinal in a similar fashion, leading from start-to-finish, splitting 1:02.15/1:08.11

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – Final

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. Mila Nikanorov (USA)- 8:27.61
  2. Francisca Soares Martins (POR)- 8:30.76
  3. Ruka Takezawa (JPN)- 8:30.95
  4. Kate Hurst (USA)-8:32.67
  5. Rebecca Diaconescu (ROU)- 8:36.51
  6. Niko Aoki (JPN)- 8:36.87
  7. Noemi Cesarano (ITA)-8:38.40
  8. Julie Brousseau (CAN)-8:39.36

The United States is racking up the medals today with another gold coming from Mila Nikanorov‘s 8:27.61 in the 800 freestyle for the event win by more than three seconds.

Nikanorov even split her 400, swimming 4:13.88/4:13.73. Because of this, she was actually out in 8th place at the 100, flipping at 1:01.97.

She slowly started working her way up, moving into 4th at the 200 (2:05.92), and then taking over the lead at the 400 mark.

From there, she just continued to build her lead and descend her splits, dropping from 32s to 31-mids as the race went on.

Portugal’s Francisca Soares Martins finished 2nd from lane one. She got out fast, leading the race for the first 350 meters, splitting 59.53 on the first 100.

Her first 400 was 4:14.30, and from there, she held relatively consistent splits in the 32 mid range. At the 550 mark, she actually gave up the silver medal position for just over a 200 to bronze medalist Ruka Takezawa from Japan, before taking it back by splitting 30.30 on the final 50.

Takezawa was locked in a tight race with Soares Martins, holding the lead at the 750 mark, but her final 50 of 30.58 was not enough to stay in silver medal position, and she finished with the bronze, just two tenths back.

MEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Final

  • World Record: 1:54.00 – Ryan Lochte, USA (2011)
  • World Junior Record: 1:56.99 – Hubert Kos, HUN (2021)
  • World University Games Record: 1:57.35 – Kosuke Hagino, JPN (2017)

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. Takumi Mori (JPN)- 1:57.24 **New WUGS Record
  2. Mitchell Schott (USA)- 1:58.25
  3. Yuta Watanabe (JPN)- 1:58.54
  4. Owen McDonald (USA)- 1:58.68
  5. Simone Spediacci (ITA)- 2:00.11
  6. Eitan Ben Shitrit (ISR)- 2:00.45
  7. Gabriel Gorgas (AUS)- 2:00.99
  8. Diego Mira Albaladejo (ESP)- 2:01.40

Takumi Mori from Japan set a new WUGs record in the men’s 200 IM, stopping the clock at 1:57.24 to win the event by more than a second and break fellow Japanese swimmer Kosuke Hagino‘s record of 1:57.35 from 2017.

Mori was in 4th at the 100, sitting two seconds behind the leader Owen McDonald, but he had the fastest breaststroke split in the field by more than a second, putting him in 2nd place overall. His final 50 split of 27.83 was the 2nd fastest in the heat and vaulted him up the heat to first place and the gold medal.

Mitchell Schott was in 2nd for a majority of the race, dropping briefly into 3rd after the breaststroke, but he split 27.94 on the freestyle to move back into 2nd and grab the silver for the United States.

Japan’s other swimmer in the final Yuta Watanabe had a very similar race to Mori, turning in 5th place at the 100 mark. He had the 2nd fastest 50 breaststroke in the heat at 34.78 to move up to 4th, and then he split the fastest freestyle at 27.76 to pass McDonald for the bronze.

Owen McDonald had the opposite race. He led the race through the first 150, earning a significant lead on the rest of the field after the backstroke. His breaststroke split was right around the middle of the field at 35.45, but his early speed caught up with him at the end, leading to his freestyle split of 29.38, the slowest in the field. This was slower than both his butterfly (24.93) and backstroke (28.92) splits, and dropped him off the podium entirely.

Mixed 4×100 Medley Relay — Final

  • World Record: 3:37.43 — United States (2024)
  • World University Games Record: 3:44.02 — China (2023)

Top 8 Finishers:

  1. United States- 3:44.40
  2. Poland- 3:47.14
  3. South Africa- 3:48.43
  4. Italy- 3:48.65
  5. Japan- 3:49.69
  6. Germany- 3:51.13
  7. Sweden 3:54.93

Switzerland: DQ

The United States won the mixed 4×100 medley relay gold in risky fashion. They made the decision to swim MMFF, something no other team in the field did.

They led off with Will Modglin, who swam 52.83 on the backstroke to take the lead over South Africa’s Ruard van Renen by a second-and-a-half.

Ben Delmar swam the breaststroke leg in 1:00.08 to hold onto the lead and give the women a near seven second lead going into the final 100.

Leah Shackley did the fly in 57.93, holding off Poland’s Adrian Jaskiewicz, who split 52.03 by just over a second.

Maxine Parker anchored the United States relay, splitting 53.56 to help the United States come home with the gold by almost three seconds.

Poland won the silver in 3:47.14, swimming FMMF. Adela Piskorska swam the backstroke in 1:00.31, Dawid Wiekira split 59.57 on the breaststroke leg, Jaskiewicz swam 52.03 on the fly, and brought them home in 55.23 to hold off South Africa.

South Africa swam a MFMF order, with Ruard van Renen leading off, rather than Record Breaker Pieter Coetze. Van Renen split 54.24 on the backstroke before handing it off to Simone Moll, who swam the breaststroke in 1:07.23. Guy Brooks swam the fly leg for them, coming in at 53.18, and Olivia Nel anchored in 53.18.

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