Chad relieved to strike gold again
LE CLOS WINS 200M BUTTERFLY ON DAY ONE SA star finally claims major title after tough year in and out of the pool.
Returning to his best in his specialist event, Chad le Clos was relieved to earn his first major international 200m butterfly title in two years, charging to victory on the opening day of the World Short Course Swimming Championships.
Le Clos earned a comfortable victory in Windsor, Canada in the early hours of yesterday morning as he touched the wall in 1:48.76, just 0.20 outside his own world record.
It was his third career global short course title in the 200m fly, returning to the top of the podium after failing to defend his outdoor crowns at last year’s Fina World Championships and the Olympic Games earlier this season.
He was well clear of American silver medallist Tom Shields, who completed the eight-length race in the 25m pool in 1:49.50, and Daiya Seto of Japan ended third in 1:49.97.
“I’ve wanted to win a (major) race the whole year,” Le Clos said.
“Obviously the Olympics was not so good for me, but I’ll take the short course title and work towards next year.”
The 24-year-old star admitted he had a tough season.
Aside from settling for two silver medals at the Rio Games, after chasing three individual titles, he had a rocky year outside the pool with both his parents fighting battles with cancer.
Having split with long-time coach Graham Hill after the Olympics, and moving from his home in Durban to settle in Cape Town, he finished second overall in the nine-leg World Cup campaign which ended in October.
He showed for the first time yesterday, however, that he had overcome all the challenges and changes in his personal life, bagging his seventh career shortcourse world title.
“It was a difficult year for me in and outside the pool ... but I won’t make excuses about it,” Le Clos said.
“I’ll assess it and make sure I come back stronger.”