Gold medal brings tears for South African after disastrous outing in Rio

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Tears streamed down Chad le Clos’ cheeks as the South African anthem was played Wednesday with both his parents watching.

The 25-year-old won the men’s 200-metre butterfly final at the world championships, and there was no checking the emotion following a year of personal misfortune and sporting disappointment.

“It was an emotional race — before the race, after the race, during the race — I knew it was going to be difficult,” le Clos said.

Weeks before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last year, the South African star confirmed that both his parents were fighting cancer. His mother Geraldine’s breast cancer had returned after her remission in 2010, and his father Bert had undergone an operation for prostate cancer.

Le Clos went to Rio as defending champion in the 200 fly. Michael Phelps, the 2004 and 2008 champion, was seen as his greatest rival. The American took back the title and le Clos didn’t even make the podium.

Le Clos then took silver in the 100 fly — in a threeway tie with Phelps and Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh — behind new kid on the block Joseph Schooling.

But the podium shutout in the 200 grated on Le Clos, who this week was racing in a “very daunting stadium, with everyone cheering for the two Hungarians.”

Cseh finished 0.39 seconds behind le Clos to claim the silver.

A rendezvous with Schooling awaits in the 100 butterfly.