Males’s 100 Backstroke: Pieter Coetze Leads Deepest Occasion in Males’s Swimming
For nearly a decade, Ryan Murphy was a global stalwart within the males’s 100 backstroke, profitable Olympic gold in 2016 and a world title six years later. He missed a global podium precisely as soon as, by one hundredth of a second on the 2019 World Championships. Throughout that very same span, China’s Xu Jiayu gained two world titles within the occasion plus two Olympic silver medals, and over the previous couple of years of that run, Hunter Armstrong joined Murphy because the second U.S. consultant within the occasion, profitable medals at three consecutive World Championships.
At this 12 months’s international meet in Singapore, none of these three have been within the 100 again last. Neither American tried to qualify this 12 months whereas Xu ended up eleventh within the semifinals. However of their absence, the usual required to achieve the rostrum was the quickest in historical past. Additional, the meet indicated a sequence of swimmers who’ve large future potential within the 100 again, so this may very well be the deepest occasion in international swimming going ahead.
Pieter Coetze, a 21-year-old from South Africa, was the occasion’s winner in a time of 51.85, 5 hundredths forward of world-record holder and Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon. Coetze reached the rostrum in all three backstroke occasions in Singapore, making him the male breakout star of the meet alongside Tunisian distance swimmer Ahmed Jaouadi.
For a lot of this 12 months’s last, Ceccon seemed to be a non-factor earlier than surging again into rivalry on the finish. Whereas he’s a longtime star, he’s nonetheless solely 24 years outdated and never going anyplace. His 2025 high time of 51.80, clocked main off the Italian males’s 400 medley relay, is one of the best official mark of the 12 months. France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard is definitely two months older than Ceccon, however this 12 months marked his ascension from good to nice as he broke 52 to seize the ultimate spot on the rostrum. Three days later, he would earn a second bronze within the 200 again.
Coetze, Ceccon and Ndoye-Brouard completed with the medals, however they weren’t the one swimmers leaving Singapore arrange as future stars within the 100 again. It’s only a matter of time earlier than Hubert Kos breaks by way of within the two-lap occasion. He’s now the established king of the 200 again, crushing his greatest time to win gold for the third consecutive 12 months in Singapore, and he fell simply in need of a medal spot right here. Kos was the highest seed getting into the ultimate earlier than ending fourth in 52.20.
Miron Lifintsev — Picture Courtesy: Martin Csanadi/World Aquatics
Nice Britain’s Oliver Morgan has crushed his greatest time every of the previous two years, and he swam sub-52.5 within the World Championships last, as did Russian speedster Kliment Kolesnikov. Each swam even decrease 52s earlier within the 12 months. Nonetheless, Kolesnikov will not be essentially the most feared Russian swimmer on this occasion transferring ahead. That honor belongs to Miron Lifintsev, a 19-year-old who swept quick course world titles within the 50 and 100 again final December.
Lifintsev had a person efficiency to neglect in Singapore, ending seventh, however a day later, he led off the Impartial Athletes’ blended 400 medley relay in 51.78. Combined relay leadoffs aren’t thought of official occasions, but when acknowledged, the mark would have been the second-fastest in historical past, behind solely the 51.60 Ceccon posted three years in the past. That blast by Lifintsev helped the Impartial Athletes dominate the relay and end simply off the world report. Count on to see Lifintsev convey that velocity to the person occasion in future years.
After this string of scorching performances this summer season, the 100 again will likely be a troublesome occasion to crack for anybody hoping to safe a medal at future worldwide competitions, together with the 2027 World Championships in Budapest and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The Individuals may very well be particularly bother in an occasion they’ve lengthy excelled in, though there may be nonetheless time for enchancment. Will Modglin had the highest U.S. time this 12 months along with his 52.54 on the World College Video games, and Murphy and Armstrong may each be within the combine sooner or later.
Internationally, swimmers like Kos, Morgan, Russia’s Pavel Samusenko and Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk are lurking, and it’s potential veterans like Xu and Greece’s Apostolos Christou have one other run in them. It took a sub-52 efficiency to get a medal in Singapore, and transferring ahead, count on to see 51-second swims left off the rostrum altogether because of the extraordinary backstroking velocity coming from all corners of the globe.
