Pieter Coetze Leads Deepest Event

Men’s 100 Backstroke: Pieter Coetze Leads Deepest Event in Men’s Swimming

For almost a decade, Ryan Murphy was an international stalwart in the men’s 100 backstroke, winning Olympic gold in 2016 and a world title six years later. He missed an international podium exactly once, by one hundredth of a second at the 2019 World Championships. During that same span, China’s Xu Jiayu won two world titles in the event plus two Olympic silver medals, and over the last few years of that run, Hunter Armstrong joined Murphy as the second U.S. representative in the event, winning medals at three consecutive World Championships.

At this year’s global meet in Singapore, none of those three were in the 100 back final. Neither American attempted to qualify this year while Xu ended up 11th in the semifinals. But in their absence, the standard required to reach the podium was the fastest in history. Further, the meet indicated a series of swimmers who have massive future potential in the 100 back, so this could be the deepest event in global swimming going forward.

Pieter Coetze, a 21-year-old from South Africa, was the event’s winner in a time of 51.85, five hundredths ahead of world-record holder and Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon. Coetze reached the podium in all three backstroke events in Singapore, making him the male breakout star of the meet alongside Tunisian distance swimmer Ahmed Jaouadi.

For much of this year’s final, Ceccon appeared to be a non-factor before surging back into contention at the end. While he is an established star, he is still only 24 years old and not going anywhere. His 2025 top time of 51.80, clocked leading off the Italian men’s 400 medley relay, is the best official mark of the year. France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard is actually two months older than Ceccon, but this year marked his ascension from good to great as he broke 52 to grab the final spot on the podium. Three days later, he would earn a second bronze in the 200 back.

Coetze, Ceccon and Ndoye-Brouard finished with the medals, but they were not the only swimmers leaving Singapore set up as future stars in the 100 back. It is just a matter of time before Hubert Kos breaks through in the two-lap event. He is now the established king of the 200 back, crushing his best time to win gold for the third consecutive year in Singapore, and he fell just short of a medal spot here. Kos was the top seed entering the final before finishing fourth in 52.20.

Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan has crushed his best time each of the past two years, and he swam sub-52.5 in the World Championships final, as did Russian speedster Kliment Kolesnikov. Both swam even lower 52s earlier in the year. However, Kolesnikov is not the most feared Russian swimmer in this event moving forward. That honor belongs to Miron Lifintsev, a 19-year-old who swept short course world titles in the 50 and 100 back last December.

Lifintsev had an individual performance to forget in Singapore, finishing seventh, but a day later, he led off the Neutral Athletes’ mixed 400 medley relay in 51.78. Mixed relay leadoffs are not considered official times, but if recognized, the mark would have been the second-fastest in history, behind only the 51.60 Ceccon posted three years ago. That blast by Lifintsev helped the Neutral Athletes dominate the relay and finish just off the world record. Expect to see Lifintsev bring that speed to the individual event in future years.

After this string of sizzling performances this summer, the 100 back will be a tough event to crack for anyone hoping to secure a medal at future international competitions, including the 2027 World Championships in Budapest and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The Americans could be in particular trouble in an event they have long excelled in, although there is still time for improvement. Will Modglin had the top U.S. time this year with his 52.54 at the World University Games, and Murphy and Armstrong could both be in the mix in the future.

Internationally, swimmers like Kos, Morgan, Russia’s Pavel Samusenko and Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk are lurking, and it’s possible veterans like Xu and Greece’s Apostolos Christou have another run in them. It took a sub-52 performance to get a medal in Singapore, and moving forward, expect to see 51-second swims left off the podium altogether thanks to the intense backstroking speed coming from all corners of the globe.