Coetzé wins silver in 200m backstroke final at World Aquatics Champs
South Africa's Pieter Coetzé had to settle for second place and the silver medal in the 200m backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championship in Singapore on Friday.
After claiming the gold medal in the 100m backstroke event on Tuesday, Coetzé was edged into second place by Olympic champion, Hubert Kos from Hungary in a close final.
Kos touched first in a time of 1:53.19, with Coetzé second in 1:53.36 — a new African record.
In third place was France's Yohann Ndoye-Brouard in 1:54.62.
Coetzé had led over the first 100 metres, but the Hungarian powered to the front in the second half of the race on Friday.
Having scraped through to the semi-finals earlier on Thursday as the 16th fastest qualifier in 1:57.11, the 21-year-old put any doubts to rest in his evening swim, storming to victory in the first semi-final, taking out the first 50m under world record pace and holding on to finish in 1:54.22 – so bettering his own African record.
It's also a time that would have won Coetzé the gold medal at last year's Olympic Games in Paris.
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