# Swimming: South Africa’s Pieter Coetzé has smashed the men’s 50-metre backstroke short-course world record at the Swimming World Cup in Uzbekistan. The 22-year-old touched the wall in 22.09 seconds in Tashkent yesterday, taking 0.02 seconds off the previous mark set by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov in 2022. Coetzé beat Russian swimmer Egor Kornev, who finished second in 22.29 seconds, while Pavel Samusenko took bronze. The world record is the latest achievement in a remarkable year for Coetzé, who won three backstroke gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.
Swimming: Coetzé smashes world record in Tashkent