Le Clos to use first medal attempt as a ‘stepping stone’
CHAD le Clos says he will use the disappointment of not winning a medal in the men’s 400m individual medley at the Olympic Games on Saturday as a stepping stone towards future glory.
“The 200m fly on Monday (today) and Tuesday night will be huge races for me,” Le Clos said after missing out on a podium finish. “I believe that I will be stronger in those events and, for now, it is a stepping stone and a learning curve.”
While Le Clos, who is competing in his maiden games, had been apprehensive about Saturday’s performance, he should be pleased by the way he stuck with the world’s swimming super stars. He held the lead after the opening length of the butterfly leg but faded in the middle of the race to finish fifth in four minutes and 12,42 seconds.
American Ryan Lochte won gold, with Brazil’s Thiago Pereira taking silver. Japan’s Kosuke Hagino finished third, leaving America’s 14-time Olympic gold medallist, Michael Phelps, to touch in fourth place.
“I wasn’t too nervous, I was trying to make myself nervous, and this morning I was thinking this is really the Olympics,” Le Clos said after the race.
“The crowd was massive and I think that they played a big role. I’m excited for my next race but also for another chance in four years’ time.”
The South African could illafford to fret for too long as he had to prepare himself for his signature event, the 200m butterfly today. His performance in the medley suggests he could spring a surprise on his more esteemed competitors by clinching a medal in the butterfly.
Le Clos has always maintained that he would be targeting the Rio de Janeiro Games as his pinnacle but he will, nevertheless, take a stab at it in the English capital.
Phelps has indicated this will be his last Olympic Games while Lochte is also approaching the end of his career.
The South African strongly believed he could be the successor to the crown but, to do so, he needed to bite at their heels before they called it a day. “It is the last time I will be racing against them because Phelps will be retiring,” he said. “Hopefully Lochte will be around a bit longer because I am a bit disappointed and I need to get him back.”
In the meantime, he will have enough time to test himself against two of the sport’s great Olympians in the 100m butterfly and the 200m individual medley.
Meanwhile, Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza says his team buckled under the pressure of having to punch above their weight at the Olympic Games.
“I think the stage for us is too big, but it’s good experience for the girls,” Mkhonza said after his side went down 3-0 to Canada in Coventry on Saturday, their second pool match.
“We play well but we make mistakes and get punished, but when others make mistakes, we don’t punish them.”
The South African women’s soccer team, ranked 61st in the world, was drawn against three of the top seven sides in the world.
I wasn’t too nervous, I was trying to make myself nervous, and … I was thinking this is really the Olympics
Mkhonza said the team had been unprepared in terms of spending time together.
“Firstly, we should have to started preparing earlier,” he said. “We only started preparations last September, after we had qualified. We had problems due to some of the girls still being at school, but we need to start earlier to be ready to play these high quality teams in the future.”
He said African soccer would not close the gap between them and the rest of the world unless they put more emphasis on women’s soccer.
“In Africa, the biggest problem is that most of the countries do not take women’s football seriously,” he said. “You only have to a play a few matches to qualify (for the Olympics) whereas in Europe they play a lot more. We have to play the big teams more often to be able to compete against them.”
Mkhonza added that while they were disappointed with the results, the experience of playing against the top teams in the world would pay off when they compete in the African Women’s Championships (AWC) later this year in Equatorial Guinea.
“The experience we’ve gained will put us in good stead for the AWC,” he said.
Banyana’s next match is against world champions Japan tomorrow. Sapa