Swimming South Africa celebrates international success and honours outstanding athletes

Swimming South Africa (SSA) is proud to celebrate the exceptional performances of our athletes on the global stage. At the recent World Championships in Singapore, Team South Africa delivered inspiring results across swimming, diving, water polo, open water, and artistic swimming - reflecting the strength and progress of thier high-performance programme.

Two athletes in particular rose to the podium with world-class achievements:

• Pieter Coetze: Gold (100m backstroke), Silver (200m backstroke) and Bronze (50m backstroke)

• Kaylene Corbett: Bronze (200m breaststroke)

Their success was complemented by a series of remarkable team milestones, including:

• Five new continental records in swimming

• Strong improvement by our diving team, ranked 24th globally

• Our open water athletes placing 27th in the world

• Exciting promise shown by our youth water polo teams

• Continued growth in artistic swimming, with junior teams competing internationally

To honour these accomplishments, SSA today awarded financial incentives to athletes and coaches:

• Athletes: R30 000 (Gold), R20 000 (Silver), R10 000 (Bronze)

• Coaches: R10 000 (Gold), R7 500 (Silver), R5 000 (Bronze)

“These results demonstrate that our long-term performance strategies are bearing fruit,” said Alan Fritz, President of Swimming South Africa. “With the invaluable support of our partners, such as the Bombela Concession Company, we are building towards our future goals - Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2036.”

SSA also highlighted a critical challenge: access to world-class aquatic facilities. Expanding partnerships with both government and the private sector remain essential to ensure athletes have the resources needed to compete consistently at the highest level.

“Our athletes have shown that South Africa belongs on the world stage. With the right investment, we can take them even further,” added Fritz.

Swimming South Africa congratulates all athletes, coaches and teams who continue to fly the national flag proudly.