Pieter Coetze Breaks the Men's 50m Backstroke Short-Course World Record with 22.09

South African swimmer Pieter Coetze swam the men's 50m backstroke in 22.09 seconds at a World Aquatics World Cup meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 9 October 2026. This is a short-course (25-metre pool) world record. The swim is reported to have beaten Kliment Kolesnikov's 22.11 seconds by 0.02 seconds. It is Coetze's first career world record. As of 10 October 2026 the race is completed, not upcoming.

What happened and when

The race took place on 9 October 2026. GKToday, the source for the 2026 swim, published its report on 10 October 2026, so the event date and the publication date differ by one day. Coetze is 22 and swims for South Africa. The report describes him as a World and Commonwealth Games champion.

Race result

Progress within a week

The 22.09 also improved Coetze's own South African and African record of 22.51 seconds. He had set that record six days earlier in Baku, Azerbaijan. The drop of 0.42 seconds in under a week is a notable jump, though the sources give no explanation for it.

Why the previous record matters

The earlier mark of 22.11 seconds belonged to Russia's Kliment Kolesnikov. A separate Wikipedia page on the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m) confirms it as the world record before that meet. It lists the record as set in Kazan, Russia, on 23 November 2022. The same page shows that Coetze already ranked second in the world for 2024, with 22.75, before that championship. He was not competing in Budapest.

Short-course vs long-course records

This distinction is the most useful point for revision, because the two kinds of record are kept separately.

Pool length changes the number of turns in a race. The report notes that swimmers turn at each end of the pool. Coetze's record does not replace Kolesnikov's long-course mark.

The 50m backstroke and the Olympics

Backstroke swimmers start in the water, facing the pool wall. The 50m backstroke is a sprint event. It is scheduled to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. That is a future event as of 10 October 2026. The Olympic programme already includes backstroke over 100m and 200m.

Quick revision points

• Pieter Coetze (South Africa) set the men's 50m backstroke short-course world record of 22.09 s on 9 October 2026.
• The venue was a World Aquatics World Cup meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
• The previous record was 22.11 s by Kliment Kolesnikov, set in 2022.
• Short-course pools are 25 m; long-course pools are 50 m.
• The 50m backstroke is scheduled for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Sports records and event venues are common current-affairs topics, but nothing here suggests a question will appear in any particular exam.

Evidence limits

The 2026 swim rests on one report. The supplied material does not include an official World Aquatics statement or confirmation that the record has been ratified. It also gives no splits, reaction quotes or full results beyond the top three. The Wikipedia page covers the 2024 championships and the earlier record, not the Tashkent race.

FAQ

Is Coetze's record a long-course record?

No. It is a short-course record, set in a 25-metre pool. Kolesnikov holds the long-course record of 23.55 seconds, according to the report.

By how much did Coetze beat the old record?

By 0.02 seconds: 22.09 against 22.11 seconds.

Has the 50m backstroke been in the Olympics?

The report says it is scheduled to debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, so it has not yet been held there.