The 17-year-old, Pieter Coetzé will be the youngest swimmer to compete in the 100m-backstroke at the Tokyo Olympic Games on 25 July 2021. On a greater note, he is not intimidated by such statistics.
To him, age is mere numbers. It does not dictate how fast or slow you are going to swim. The Tuks based swimmer has a definite goal. It is to qualify for the semi-finals. It means he has to swim a time close to his personal best of 53.62s. The save money would be to bet that he will do so. From, August last year to April this year, he has improved his best time by three seconds.
Coetzé never relents once he has made up his mind to achieve something. During the South African Invitational Championships in Gqeberha, he became the poster boy of determination.
He had to swim 53.85s in the 100m-backstroke to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Unfortunately, the Tuks swimmer failed three times. It led to some tears, but he was not going to give up. It was only on his fourth attempt that he swam 53.62s.
Coetzé admits to being slightly nervous about competing at the Games, but according to him, it is the right amount of stress.
"I know I am capable of swimming faster. It is what motivated me over the last few weeks. I don't think I have ever been so focused and trained at such a high intensity. My coach, Rocco Meiring, helped me to improve on some minor things in my technique. As a result, I think the execution of my start and turns are better.
"Luckily, the only pressure I have is my own expectations. But I won't let it get the better of me. This Olympics is all about gaining experience."
Coetzé is thinking about going out hard over the first 50 metres. After that, if everything goes according to plan, he hopes to maintain his top-end speed until the end.
The youngster started to seriously swim when he was nine. He was inspired by Chad le Clos heroics at the Olympic Games.
"Chad is the one that to prove every young South African swimmer that nothing is impossible if you put in the hours of hard work and believe in your abilities."
Australia's Isaac Cooper is the other 17-year-old that will be competing in the 100m-backstroke tomorrow. He is, however, four months older than Coetzé.
Coetzé is swimming the fifth heat, which is at 13:01 (SA Time). Tatjana Schoenmaker will be competing in the 100m-breaststroke heats at 12:45 (SA Time).
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