Two seconds faster is the challenge Duné Coetzee is going to set herself from next week when she competes in the 200m-butterfly during the World Junior Championships in Budapest. 

The reward if the 17-year-old Tuks swimmer manages to do so is that she would have a real chance of representing South Africa at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. It has been a dream of hers ever since she started to win medals in the pool.

Currently, her best time in the 200m-butterfly is 2:10.89. The Olympic qualification A-standard is 2:08.43. Coetzee is under no illusion as to the challenge that awaits her. 

Two seconds is a tall order, but then again, she has been consistently chipping away at her best time in the 200m-butterfly over the last three years. In 2017 she swam 2:14.38. Last it was 2:11.71 which means already this season she has improved by nearly a second.

But it is never only going to be about times for Coetzee. In 2018 she won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games proving that the one thing she genuinely relishes is a good duel in the pool.  She has also been winning the South Africa senior 200m-butterfly title for the last three years.

Having the privilege to train in the same pool as Tatjana Schoenmaker at Tuks definitely adds to Coetzee's determination to medal.

"Tatjana is not only my friend. She is a mentor. Her performances over the last three years are truly inspirational. By winning a silver medal at the World Championships in South Korea, Tatjana dared every young female swimmer in South Africa not to hold back on their dreams. I now know anything is possible if you are prepared to put in the big sacrifices and long hours while believing in your own abilities." 

The Tuks swimmer has undoubtedly not been scared to push herself to the limits during training. Often throughout the year, she would arrive 30 minutes or so earlier than the official training session is due to start to be able to put in a few extra kilometres. Even on most Sunday mornings, Coetzee can be seen stroking away through the water.

The Tuks swimmer is grateful that Swimming South Africa allowed her to compete at the recent Elite World Championships in South Korea with no pressure to get a top result. The idea was only that she should get used to competing against the best in the world.

According to Linda de Jager (Tuks swim coach), the Elite Championships was an ideal opportunity for Coetzee to focus on executing her technique to perfection while racing. 

"Video analysis afterwards showed that she has managed to become quite a bit more efficient in the way she executed her turns. That is important for any swimmer who has aspirations of being faster," De Jager said.

Apart from the 200m-butterfly Coetzee will also be competing in the 100m-butterfly and the 200m as well as 400m freestyle events.

Henré Louw, Ruan Breytenbach and Ethan Spieker are the other Tuks swimmers who will be competing.