South Africa's Chad le Clos: A mountain to climb but primed to put up a fight

Betting against Chad le Clos is risky business. The South African butterfly specialist seems to have a way of sniffing out doubt which fuels him to do better, to prove people wrong.

Le Clos is one year short of reaching 30, but it feels like a lifetime ago when he produced one of the biggest upsets in the pool, beating U.S. icon Michael Phelps for the 200m butterfly gold at London 2012.

And still, nine years later, Le Clos keeps going, now racing at his third Olympic Games, where he is aiming to return to the podium in his pet 200m butterfly event. He missed out on a medal in Rio 2016 in the event, with Phelps reclaiming the title.

Le Clos has matured over the last decade from a young, bright-eyed swimmer making his debut on the Olympic stage to a tumultuous and emotional build-up to Rio 2016. Although he still has an insatiable drive to step onto the podium, Le Clos has an air of contentment going into Tokyo 2020.

Bitter disappointment

Five years ago, Le Clos suffered a bitter defeat in the 200m butterfly final missing out on the podium with Phelps reclaiming the title he conceded to the South African in London.

Although Le Clos missed out on a medal in the 200m butterfly, he shared the silver with Phelps and Hungary's Laszlo Cseh in the 100m before also finishing second in the 200m freestyle final. He bowed out of Rio 2016 with two silver medals adding to the gold and silver from London 2012, making him South Africa's most decorated Olympian.

"I've reminisced a lot over the last couple of months, and I'm just very grateful. I am grateful to be sitting here today in a position where a lot of people aren't," Le Clos told Olympics.com. "I'm going to my third Olympic Games. I've got four medals; I'm the most decorated Olympian South Africa's ever had, and hopefully, I'm going to add to that."

Bouncing back

He bounced back from the disappointment of Rio 2016 at the following year's world championships by reclaiming the time he conceded two years earlier, posting his fastest time since beating Phelps in London in 2012.

The golden boy of South African swimming further cemented his status as one of the butterfly greats at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, despite niggling injuries.

He won bronze in the 100m and 200m butterfly, marking the fourth consecutive year he managed to step onto the podium at the global showpiece – a decade after his debut at the championships.

Le Clos finished third behind American Caeleb Dressel and Kristof Milak of Hungary, who won the world 100m and 200m butterfly titles respectively in the fastest times in history.

Milak smashed Phelps' 200m butterfly world record from 2009 with a stunning time of one minute, 50.73 seconds (1:50.73). Defending world 100m butterfly champion Dressel did the same in the shorter event, chopping 0.32s off Phelps' global mark with a time of 49.50 seconds.

With a new generation of fast and fearless butterfly swimmers coming through, Le Clos, as the seasoned campaigner, faces questions about whether these would be his last Olympics.

"By no means am I retiring at the end of this. This is not the end of it," Le Clos said adamantly.

"I believe that there's another Olympic gold medal in me, but I don't know when that's going to be. I'm not saying it will be now, but I know that there's another gold medal in me," he added. "I don't know if it's Paris 2024. I don't know if it's here. I don't know when that's going to be. But I feel re-energised with everything."

A fighter at heart

In both the 100m and 200m butterfly, it is hard to see anybody challenging Dressel and Milak for the gold medals. The duo has been heads and shoulders above the rest.

Le Clos speaks of immense respect for both swimmers that have taken up the mantle in the butterfly events.

"I respect Caeleb Dressel and Milak tremendously. I think they are – I don't want to say better than Phelps because Phelps is the greatest – but they've beaten his world records without the suits, and they're both young," Le Clos admitted.

"They're both improving. They are super talents. If I'm racing Milak and Dressel 100 times in a time trial, they're going to win 100 out of 100 because they are better swimmers than me."

Although Le Clos may not boast the same speed as his younger competitors, he has shown a propensity for a fight in a championship environment. His consistent forays onto the podium at the Olympics and the world championships serve as a reminder.

And while Le Clos is well aware of the mountain he has to climb. He has been battled-hardened and primed for a brawl in the pool.

"I believe I can beat them in a race, I'm not saying I'm going to beat them, but there's a one percent chance that I can win," Le Clos said.

"There's a huge mountain to climb, I've got Everest to climb, but I'll do whatever it takes. People don't really understand what the Olympics means to me and my family.

"I'm a fighter at heart," he went on."I promise I'll give my best. I will not swim for second or third I will try and win both races.

“I promise you I will go for the jugular every time," the veteran concluded. "And it might be fourth and fifth, and it might be seventh and eighth. I don't know what it's going to be. But I'm going to be in the mix, and I am going to go for it."