Two golds, next stop Paris
Lewis Clareburt is now targeting the Paris Olympics in 2024 for his next major medal-winning exploits
Lewis Clareburt can be the best in the world.
The New Zealand swimmer won his second Commonwealth Games gold medal in as many days when he claimed gold in the men’s 200m butterfly final in Birmingham yesterday.
It followed his impressive breakthrough triumph in the 400m individual medley and Clareburt’s coach Gary Hollywood has high hopes that the 23-yearold can also beat the world’s best, with the 2024 Paris Olympics their major target.
‘‘He can be the best in the world if he wants to be,’’ Hollywood said. ‘‘He’s got the talent for it ... there’s no limits, it’s whatever he wants.’’
Hollywood said he and Clareburt were continually looking to make improvements in and outside the pool.
‘‘We’re doing everything we possibly can. We’ve recruited Ryan Lochte’s old coach, Gregg Troy, to give us that maybe 1% improvement.’’
Only Michael Phelps has won more Olympic swimming medals for the United States than Lochte,
who won the 400IM gold in London in 2012. ‘‘We’ve got the best sports performance psychologists in the world – not just helping Lewis but helping me, so I can help Lewis.
‘‘We’ve got [former four-time Commonwealth Games medal winner] Hannah Miley’s father, Patrick Miley, who’s doing a lot of algorithms for us.
‘‘We’re trying to absolutely leave no stone unturned.’’
Clareburt said he honestly didn’t think that he’d win gold in the 200 fly in Birmingham.
‘‘I wasn’t even entered in it, I just asked to be put in it, and they said yes – I’m glad they said yes.
‘‘I didn’t think that would happen tonight,’’ he said after chasing down legendary South African veteran Chad le Clos over the final 15 metres to win in a time of 1:55.60, triumphing by 0.29 seconds.
It was le Clos’s 18th Commonwealth Games medal, drawing him equal as the most prolific medal winner in Commonwealth Games history.
‘‘I knew this morning after the
heat I had that little bit left to give in the last 50 – Chad and I were just playing around a bit this morning,’’ Clareburt said.
‘‘I knew those guys were really fast over 150 metres, but I knew I had that last 50 in me.’’
With his IM win, Clareburt became the first Kiwi male swimmer to win Commonwealth Games gold since Moss Burmester in Melbourne in 2006.
The following evening, he did it again in Burmester’s specialist event.
‘‘I watched Moss in the 2008
Olympics come fourth, that was pretty inspiring,’’ Clareburt said.
‘‘I may not be 1:49, 1:50 like the rest of the world – but I’m getting faster and I’m getting there.’’
Clareburt has one more event to compete in Birmingham – the 200 IM – and with a medal would join Yvette Williams (1954) and Gary Anderson (1990) as the only New Zealanders with three golds at one Commonwealth Games.
‘‘I think the rest of the world is going to be watching what we’re doing in NZ, and that’s pretty cool.’’