Chad,tatjana in record victories
DURBAN’S golden boy Chad le Clos got an early birthday gift when he made history yesterday by winning the same swimming event for the third consecutive Commonwealth Games.
Swimming in lane six, Le Clos clocked a record time of 1:54 in the 200m butterfly race.
It was his second gold at the games, held on Australia’s Gold Coast, after a victory in the men’s 50m butterfly on Friday.
As usual, Chad’s father, Bert le Clos, was ecstatic.
Chad celebrates his 26th birthday on Thursday and Bert said his victories called for a “big bash”.
“My wife and I are both in Australia to support Chad and we are just over the moon.
“We are going to throw him a huge party here next week and an even bigger one when we are back in South Africa,” said Le Clos.
He said he hardly got to speak to Chad, but whenever he did, Chad would mention how tired he was.
“There’s no doubt that Chad is basking in the glory of his victories. He has made history and it makes us so proud,” said Le Clos.
Le Clos said the atmosphere in Australia was amazing and there was overwhelming support for his son.
Tatjana Schoenmaker, 20, from Pretoria, also won gold in a new African record in the women’s 200m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games yesterday.
She became the first South African woman in eight years to earn a medal in the swimming pool at the event. Her gold medal brought South Africa’s medal tally to seven at the games (See page 28).