World Championships, Day Six Finals: Hubert Kos Rockets European Record for Gold in 200 Backstroke; African Mark for Pieter Coetze
Over the past couple of years, Hubert Kos has been the definition of high-level consistency in the 200-meter backstroke. An initial world title in the event was earned at the 2023 edition of the World Champs. That breakthrough was followed by an Olympic crown in Paris and a gold medal from the World Short Course Championships in Budapest.
That cycle of success has now entered Round Two.
Unleashing the finest performance of his career, Kos established a European record of 1:53.19 to edge South Africa’s Pieter Coetze at the World Championships in Singapore on Friday night. Coetze’s silver-medal effort was stellar, as he touched the wall in an African record of 1:53.36. Kos’ time bettered the previous continental record of Russian Evgeny Rylov, who clocked 1:53.23 during the 2021 season, and was a personal best by .95. The bronze medal went to Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who produced a mark of 1:54.62.
One year after reeling in Greece’s Apostolos Christou down the stretch at the Paris Games, Kos tracked down Coetze over his latest four laps. This time around, Kos did not have to erase a one-second deficit in the closing 50 meters. Rather, he lingered on Coetze’s shoulder through the first half of the race and then pulled ahead on the third lap, where he remained through the finish.
Kos and Coetze were out under world-record pace at the first turn, with the South African holding an advantage of 25.88 to 26.17. At the midway point, Coetze was still ahead, 54.48 to 54.64, but Kos split 28.60 on the third length, compared to the 29.26 of Coetze. Down the last lap, Coetze closed the gap slightly, but it was Kos who took the second world championship of his career.
“Yeah, it was great,” Kos said. “I’ll be honest, I don’t feel great after that. I’ve had a tough schedule here, but I’m really, really happy with how things are going now. And I think (coach Bob Bowman) might be happy with that time.”
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It’s been a superb week for Kos in Singapore. After setting a Hungarian record en route to a fourth place finish in the 100 backstroke, the University of Texas star captured the bronze medal in the 200 individual medley. That finish was part of a podium sweep for Longhorn Aquatics, with Kos’ teammates, Leon Marchand and Shaine Casas, winning the gold and silver medals, respectively.
Within the rich tradition of Hungarian swimming, Kos is certainly climbing the ladder toward the top tier, where the likes of Tamas Darnyi, Krisztina Egerszegi, Katinka Hosszu and Laszlo Cseh reside. In particular, and due to era proximity, Cseh has been a role model for Kos. Now, the 22-year-old is carrying the mantle for his homeland.
“I’ve given it all, left everything in the pool,” Kos said. “Could have been better, but after the tough session I had yesterday with the 200 IM, this was all I could swim. A full second better than my (personal best), a new (European record). I know I should be more joyful but, excuse me to say this, but I threw up my lunch after the final, right in the mixed zone, so I’m in the middle of my recovery now.
“Of course, it’s good to win another world title. I’m proud of that, also to have two medals at Worlds, a first for me. But all I see now that the guys are getting better, faster, so I need to work really hard. They are closing the gap. I am getting closer to the world record, (and) both give me great motivation for the coming months.”
Coetze’s silver medal followed his gold medal in the 100 backstroke from earlier in the week, where he held off reigning Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon. Coetze is now the No. 7 performer in history while Kos is the fifth-fastest performer of all-time.
For Coetze, it’s been a busy – and productive – couple of weeks. Ahead of the World Championships, Coetze won three medals at the World University Games in Berlin – golds in the 50 backstroke and 100 backstroke, and a silver in the 100 freestyle. However, he didn’t race the 200 backstroke in Germany, since the event was late in the program and the South African needed to acclimate to Southeast Asia.
“It means a lot,” Coetze said of his latest podium appearance. “I just wanted to get on the podium today and swim my best, and I had a big time drop from (the semifinals). So, I’m over the moon with that swim, even though I wanted the gold. And it was so close, but no complaints…I executed it how I wanted to. Hubert was just very good today, and he deserved the win tonight. I could see that he was ahead of me, and I felt like I was catching up in the end. If there were just 10 more meters, maybe I could have won, but if my grandma had wheels, she’d be a bicycle.”
Like Coetze, Ndoye-Brouard has medaled in both backstroke events. He picked up his second bronze medal in comfortable fashion, as Canadian Blake Tierney was .47 back for fourth place.
“I’m very happy, because now the level of my 100 is the same as my 200,” the Frenchman said. “It’s the first time that I can be successful at the top level in both races.”
