Pieter Coetze wary of peaking early at Commonwealth Games qualifiers

Coetzee was speaking ahead of the SA National Swimming Championships starting today in Gqeberha, which are also a qualifying step for the Games in July and August.  

The 21-year-old says it’s important that he does not overexert himself and save his best for the international event that introduced him to the world back in 2022. 

"It is just a qualification competition so I'm not hoping to peal or anything like that, I just want to get the job done and make the team," said Coetzee.

"And ja, Commonwealth Games is the huge focus, it's the main event of the year – and obviously I've got some great memories from the Comm Games with my first real international medals that I won.

"So great memories and I want to build on that, and improve on that, and get some more Commonwealth medals hopefully, so it's definitely the focus of the year."

READ: Price predicts blockbuster SA Nationals Swimming Champs 

Coetzee comes into the nationals in red-hot form, having claimed a clean sweep of victories in the three backstroke events at the China open, and says it was a good indicator of where he is and where he still needs to improve. 

"I think it was a good indicator that I'm on track to perform well at Nationals and see if I can build on that for the rest of the season, it was a good place to start," he added.

"At Nationals, I'll be doing the 50m, 100m and 200m Backstroke, and the 50m and 100m Freestyle, and I'm hoping to just get some good performances on the board and obviously qualify for the team.

"I just want to improve on my performances in China and my performances in previous years at Nationals – it will be good and something I'll be happy with."