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Pieter Coetze admitted he left his surge late in the men's 200m backstroke final, however, it was still enough to claim bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Swimming in a time of 1:56.77, Coetze finished behind Australian Bradley Woodward (1:56.41) in second and England's Brodie Paul Williams, who claimed gold in a time of 1:56.40.
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The result means Coetze now holds a gold, silver and bronze.
"It's good to get another medal; I think I left it late, but I'm happy to medal, and it's a personal best time," Coetze reflected after his race.
"I was aiming to try and do my best and get close to my personal bests and I've done that so I'm very, very chuffed. The medals are something that came with it so I'm very grateful.
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Coetze has now added to his 100m backstroke final gold, and 50m backstroke silver.
"I would have liked to go a bit faster, but [coach] Rocco [Meiring] told me it's not about times at the Commonwealth Games; you want to get the medals and make your country proud. I hope I've done that."
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South Africans continued to increase their medal tally on Tuesday and Coetze was full of praise for the team environment he is part of.
"I've been enjoying it a lot with the team. It's a great team and I've been having so much fun."
The 18-year-old, who is currently in grade 11, has his sights on the Paris 2024 Olympic gains, saying everything ahead of that is just the right stepping stone he needs.
"Rocco and I will be going back to the drawing board to see what we need to do in Paris to bring back an Olympic gold."
