Pieter Coetzé wins again at student games as Bayanda Walaza enters fray
Coetzé won the men's 50m backstroke and finished second in the 100m freestyle to take his personal tally to three at the Universiade, which is mostly spread across Germany's Rhine-Ruhr region.
Guy Brooks, Ruard van Renen and Olivia Nel claimed their second bronze gongs of the gala as they finished third in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay alongside Michaela de Villiers.
By early Tuesday morning South Africa's tally at the Games stood at two gold, two silver and two bronze which placed them third behind the US and Japan.
Coetzé dived into the freestyle race first, touching in 48.12sec to finish behind American Matthew King by 11-hundredths of a second.
A little more than an hour later he edged the backstroke event, finishing first in 24.49, just two-hundredths of a second in front of Korean Yoon Jihwan.
To date all South Africa's medals have come from swimming, which is being staged in Berlin, with Coetzé winning the 100m backstroke in a 51.99 world lead on Saturday night.
Other medals have come from double Commonwealth Games champion Lara van Niekerk, who claimed took silver in the women's 50m breaststroke, and Brooks, Van Renen, Nel and Simone Moll with bronze in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.
Athletics started in Bochum on Monday, with junior world champion Bayanda Walaza winning his heat in 10.27sec, the second fastest time of the round behind the man he beat into second place at the under-20 global competition, Thailand's Puripol Boonson (10.23).
Walaza's compatriot Kyle Zinn was third quickest in 10.33.
Walaza and Zinn will compete in the 100m semifinals on Tuesday evening, with the final scheduled for later Tuesday night.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Confident Coetzé ready to represent SA at World Swimming Champs in Singapore
JOHANNESBURG – Team South Africa has sent 14 swimmers to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, which start on Sunday. Among them is Pieter Coetzé, who travelled directly to Singapore from Germany, where he was representing the country at the World University Games. Coetzé was the only South African to medal at the last World Championships in 2024, claiming bronze in the 200m backstroke and faces a tough task to repeat that feat in a competitive field. 'There have been some very fast times from all over and the field is very bunched up, but I think that's just going to bring the best out of all of us, and we'll push each other so I'm pretty excited to race all these guys who have put up fast times this year,' he said. READ MORE: Pieter Coetzé leads the pack as he qualifies for 4 World Aquatics Championships events Pieter Coetzé snatches the first World Aquatics Championships qualifying time at the SA National Championships The TUKS psychology student left the World University Games with three medals after taking gold in the 50 and 100m backstroke and silver in the 100m freestyle. Coetzé's African record time of 51.99 seconds to take the 100m backstroke gold is the fastest in the world this year. 'I was very happy with how Berlin went and with my performances there,' he said after touching down in Singapore. 'It wasn't really expected at all. I didn't really know what to expect to be fair, but to swim a 51 in the 100 backstroke was definitely unexpected and definitely boosted my confidence,' said Coetzé. The swimmer dipped under 48 seconds for the first time in the 100m freestyle and under 52 seconds in the 100m backstroke. 'It's also good to see the freestyle coming along. To go sub-48 was pretty cool and a big PB as well. So it was all a good sign for Singapore. It is quite close after Berlin, but I think things are looking good.' The swimming programme at the World Aquatics Championships runs from 27 July to 3 August. SA SWIMMING TEAM: Matthew Caldwell, Aimee Canny, Pieter Coetzé, Kaylene Corbett, Caitlin de Lange, Erin Gallagher, Michael Houlie, Rebecca Meder, Georgia Nel, Olivia Nel, Hannah Robertson, Matthew Sates, Chris Smith, Catherine van Rensburg
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
Red-hot Pieter Coetzé gives South Africa medal hope in Singapore
A team of 14 South Africans will dive into action as the swimming programme gets underway at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Sunday. Leading the way for the South Africans will be young Pretoria swimmer Pieter Coetzé, who travelled directly to Singapore from Germany, where he was representing the country at the World University Games. The TUKS psychology student left the Games with a haul of three medals after taking gold in the 50m and 100m backstroke and silver in the 100m freestyle. He was particularly pleased with the times he swam, dipping under 48 seconds for the first time in the 100m freestyle and under 52 seconds in the 100m backstroke. Coetzé's African record time of 51.99 seconds to take the 100m backstroke gold is the fastest in the world this year, boosting not only his confidence but also his chances of reaching the podium in Singapore. 'I was very happy with how Berlin went and with my performances there,' he said after touching down in Singapore. 'It wasn't really expected at all. I didn't really know what to expect to be fair, but to swim a 51 in the 100m backstroke was definitely unexpected and definitely boosted my confidence. 'It's also good to see the freestyle coming along. To go sub-48 was pretty cool and a big PB as well. So it was all a good sign for Singapore. It is quite close after Berlin, but I think things are looking good.' Coetzé was the only South African to medal at the last World Championships in 2024, claiming bronze in the 200m backstroke and faces a tough task to repeat that feat in a competitive field. 'There have been some very fast times from all over and the field is very bunched up, but I think that's just going to bring the best out of all of us, and we'll push each other so I'm pretty excited to race all these guys who have put up fast times this year,' he said. Also hoping for a great showing in Singapore is Coetzé's Pretoria team-mate Erin Gallagher, who will compete in the 50m and 100m butterfly and the 100m freestyle. 'The 100m fly I'm excited to see what I can do and see where I am and what improvements I can make, but I've put a lot of my energy and focus onto the 50m fly and 100m free,' she explained. The 26-year-old was disappointed to miss out on an Olympic final in Paris last year but seems to be in a much better place heading into this competition. 'I feel much better in my body and much better in training, so I'm really looking forward to world champs because I feel like it's going to be a way better reflection of what I'm capable of doing in the pool.' In the absence of four-time Olympic medallist Tatjana Smith, who retired after the Paris Games, Kaylene Corbett and Rebecca Meder will be hoping to keep the country's flag flying high in the 200m breaststroke. Corbett is eager to see how a different approach to her training, to fit around her Honours studies this year, will translate in the pool. 'It's different and I'm excited to see how the difference has changed things – whether it's going to be really great. That's the exciting part,' said the two-time Olympic finalist. 'A happy swimmer is a fast swimmer and I'm definitely a lot happier, so I'm really excited to see where this goes.' Meder will also compete in the 200m individual medley and the 100m breaststroke. She will be in action on Sunday in the 200m individual medley along with USA-based Aimee Canny. It will be former Youth Olympic champion Michael Houlie and young gun Chris Smith who will be looking to make a mark in the men's breaststroke events. Also in the mix for South Africa in Singapore is 21-year-old Matt Sates, who, after a training stint in Switzerland, is looking to bounce back from a disappointing Olympics with a solid showing at the World Championships. The former world short course champion is down to compete in the 200m and 400m individual medley, 200m freestyle and the 100m and 200m butterfly. The swimming programme at the World Aquatics Championships runs from 27 July to 3 August. Matthew Caldwell, Aimee Canny, Pieter Coetzé, Kaylene Corbett, Caitlin de Lange, Erin Gallagher, Michael Houlie, Rebecca Meder, Georgia Nel, Olivia Nel, Hannah Robertson, Matthew Sates, Chris Smith, Catherine van Rensburg Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Bayanda Walaza claims Universiade sprint double; last-gasp gold for Smith
Bayanda Walaza claimed the sprint double at the World Student Games in Germany on Thursday as he lifted the 200m crown to add to the 100m title he won earlier in the week. His performance concluded a dramatic night of track and field for South Africa where Aiden Smith snatched the shot-put gold with his final throw of the competition. Walaza, the double sprint king from the 2024 under-20 world championships in Peru, exploded out the blocks with his trademark lightning start and he worked that advantage through the bend into the home straight where he kept his lead to cross the line in 20.63sec, seven-hundredths of a second in front of Spaniard Adria Medero. It was 12 years since Anaso Jobodwana won South Africa's first Universiade sprint double. In the men's shot put, left-handed Smith was languishing well outside the top three with a best throw of 19.23 when he stepped into the circle for his final throw of the night, finding more than an extra metre to claim first place at the death. The mixed 4x400m relay team of Mthi Mthimkulu, Precious Molepo, men's 400m champion Lythe Pillay and Marlie Viljoen won silver ahead of the US, clocking 3min 16.42sec as they ended behind Poland. And Mondray Barnard bagged third place in the men's 110m hurdles in 13.59sec to miss silver by a few thousandths of a second. Earlier, Walaza won his 200m semifinal in 20.76, just one hundredth of a second in front of Medero. It was the second fastest time of the semifinals, with Korean Lee placing first in his heat in 20.73. But it was the South African who found the right gears in the final. Colette Uys, bronze medallist in the women's shot put, ended sixth in the women's discus with a best release of 57.50m. Charné Swart-Du Plessis was sixth in the women's 800m. In the women's 400m hurdles, Hannah van Niekerk was unable to keep up with the leaders of a fast race, slipping back to seventh in 58.02. Even the 56.16 personal best she set earlier in the competition would have earned her only fifth spot. Karmen Fouche ended eighth in the women's hepthathlon, matching the position her mother Maralize Visser achieved at the 1997 edition of this showpiece in Sicily, with fewer than 20 points separating them. Fouche amassed 5,783 and Visser 5,765. Gabriella Marais, who won the women's 100m bronze, was unable to progress beyond the semifinals of the women's 200m. South Africa was lying seventh on the medals table with 16 medals, comprising six gold, three silver and seven bronze.
