By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Pieter Coetzé and Kaylene Corbett took South Africa’s medals tally to three at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore on Friday.
Coetzé won a silver medal in the 200m backstroke and broke an African record in a time of 1:53.36 in 1 min 53.36 sec behind Olympic champion Hubert Kos of Hungary – adding to his gold medal in the 100m event.
“Coming into this, I didn’t really expect to go that fast. This has exceeded all my expectations and it’s just a big honour to be in a race like that,” said Coetzé afterwards.
“I kind of expected to be out very fast. I could feel that I was moving at a high pace, and I knew that I would feel it in the end, and I did. But it’s a big PB for me so I’m super-happy with the time.”
Corbett grabbed her first World championship medal, a bronze in the Women’s 200m Breast in 2:23.52.
Olympic champion Kate Douglass of the USA took the gold in a championship record time of 2:18.50, the second fastest time in history, with world record-holder Evgeniia Chikunova second in 2:19.96.
Earlier in the day, Catherine van Rensburg finished 25th overall in the 800m freestyle in 8min 50.60sec.
Coetzé returns to the pool for the 50m backstroke and Corbett for the 50m breaststroke, while Caitlin de Lange will be taking on the 50m freestyle.
Meanwhile, Erin Gallagher added more joy for the South Africans, finishing second in her 50m butterfly semi-final to book a spot in Saturday’s final. The 26-year-old powered to a time of 23.39 seconds, bettering her own national record and finishing just one hundredth of a second off Egyptian Farida Osman’s continental mark. That sees Gallagher through to the final as the third fastest qualifier.