Pieter Coetze wins 100m backstroke gold in Glasgow; Commonwealth Games record 51.77

Commonwealth Games 2026: Pieter Coetze storms to 100m backstroke gold in Glasgow

The South African clocked a Commonwealth and African record 51.77, leading a South African gold and bronze medal effort as England’s Oliver Morgan took silver.

There was no catching Pieter Coetze .

The 22-year-old won the men’s 100m backstroke swimming final at the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 on Wednesday (29 July), touching in a Commonwealth Games record 51.77 to win gold by nearly a second.

The South African’s time was an African record too, and lowered the Games mark of 52.20 he had set in the semi-finals a night earlier. Coetze wasn’t far off the world record, either, approaching the 51.60 time set by Italy’s Thomas Ceccon in 2022.

“When you’ve reached a high level in the sport and you’ve shown yourself the times you are able to swim, like I did last year, it gives me a lot of confidence and allows me to surrender to the process,” Coetze said. “When you think too much or you force it too much, it’s easy to not perform at your best, because you’re not relaxed. You need to be relaxed to perform at the top level.”

England’s Oliver Morgan took silver in 52.66, with Coetze’s compatriot Ruard van Renen completing the podium in third at 53.31.

Scotland’s Matthew Ward finished sixth in front of the home crowd in 53.62.

“When I’ve got that confidence of showing myself what I can do and what my body is capable of, I’m able to just sit back and let it happen,” Coetze said, “and trust in the work that I’ve done and the ability that I have.”

Commonwealth Games 2026: Swimming results – complete list

Picture by 2026 Getty Images

23 July - 2 August

Commonwealth Games 2026 | Glasgow | United Kingdom