By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
July 24th – July 29th 2026 (pool swimming) Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow, Scotland LCM (50m) All the Links SwimSwam’s Official Preview Index Entries Prelims Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 Finals Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 Live ResultsAs crazy as it sounds, Pieter Coetze‘s 100m back winning time of 51.77, the second-fastest in history, may have just been a warm-up swim for the 22-year-old South African on the final day of action at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Just a short time after firing off a lifetime best and African record en route to topping the individual event’s podium this evening, Coetze wowed the crowd yet again with an even faster opening 100m back of 51.71 on the nation’s men’s 4x100m medley relay.
Coetze’s 100m back gold medal swim of 51.77 was comprised of splits of 24.68/27.09, while this later relay lead-off of 51.71 included a slightly slower 24.87 opener and a back half of 26.84 to unleash the new benchmark.
This is reminiscent of what transpired last night as well, with Coetze delivering a semi-final result of 52.20 before crushing a swifter mixed medley relay lead-off of 51.98.
Coetze’s 51.71 in tonight’s relay now checks in as the 2nd-fastest men’s 100m backstroke time in history, still sitting only behind Thomas Ceccon of Italy’s World Record of 51.60 from 2022. Coetze’s 51.77 from earlier tonight is the 3rd-best outing ever.
Top 10 Men’s LCM 100 Backstroke Performances All-Time
51.60 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2022 51.71 – Pieter Coetze (RSA), 2026 51.77 – Pieter Coetze (RSA), 2026 51.80 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2025 51.82 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2023 51.85 – Ryan Murphy (USA), 2016 & Pieter Coetze (RSA), 2025 51.86 – Xu Jiayu (CHN), 2017 51.90 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2025 51.92 – Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (ITA), 2025 51.93 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2022 51.94 – Ryan Murphy (USA), 2018 & Aaron Peirsol (USA), 2009Additionally, Coetze substantially contributed to South Africa’s new national and continental record in the men’s medley relay, with the combination of Coetze, Michael Houlie, Chad le Clos and Ruard van Renen collectively stopping the clock at a speedy result of 3:31.13.
That garnered the bronze behind Games Record-setting Australia (3:28.71) and runner-up England (3:30.68). Behind Coetze’s Commonwealth Record-breaking lead-off, Houlie split 59.41, le Clos posted 51.27 and van Renen wrapped it up in 48.74.
Their outing this evening overtook the former South African national and African continental supersuited men’s 4x100m medley relay record of 3:31.63 put on the books at the 2009 World Championships.
Split Comparison
Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay – Final
World Record: 3:26.76 – USA (Murphy, Andrew, Dressel, Apple), 2021 Commonwealth Record: 3:28.64 – Australia (Delaney, Rickard, Lauterstein, Targett), 2009 Games Record: 3:31.04 – Australia (Larkin, Packard, Irvine, Chalmers), 2018 2022 Champion: England (Williams, Wilby, Guy, Dean) – 3:31.80Top 8:
Australia (Allan, Williamson, Temple, Southam) – 3:28.71 GR England (Morgan, Ramsay-Peaty, Mildred, Mills) – 3:30.68 South Africa (Coetze, Houlie, le Clos, van Renen) – 3:31.13 AF Canada (Winterborn, Dawson, Liendo, Sauve) – 3:33.56 Scotland (Ward, Goodburn, Fearn, Scott) – 3:34.67 Northern Ireland (Johnston, Bradley, Hamilton, McMillan) – 3:37.58 Wales (Knight, Inglis, Fraser, Milne) – 3:38.92 Namibia (Durand, Wantenaar, Canjulo, Beukes) – 3:44.58Read the full story on SwimSwam: Pieter Coetze Scorches 51.71 Backstroke Lead-Off To Help RSA Crack African Medley Relay Record
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