The Morning Swim Show, August 27, 2012: The Torch Has Passed, And Chad Le Clos Is Ready To Take It

PHOENIX, Arizona, August 24. CHAD Le Clos' life has radically changed since winning gold in the 200 butterfly at the London Olympics, and on today's edition of The Morning Swim Show the South African relives the experience of beating Michael Phelps.

In addition to reliving his experiences during and immediately after the race, Le Clos taks about having “the target on my back” now that he is the best 200 butterfly swimmer in the world. He also discusses the impact the gold medal has had in South Africa and his outlook moving forward. Be sure to visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews.

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Morning Swim Show Transcripts
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Jeff Commings: This is the Morning Swim Show for Monday, August 27th, 2012. I am your host Jeff Commings. Chad Le Clos was one of the big stars of the London Olympics, beating Michael Phelps in the 200 fly and winning a silver medal in the 100 fly and Chad joins us right now in the FINIS Monitor from his home in South Africa. Chad it is a pleasure to have you on the show again, how are you doing?

Chad Le Clos: Thank you very much. I am fine thank you. How are you?

Jeff: I am doing great. How is the South African winter treating you right now?

Chad: It is a lot colder than I expected coming from Europe Summer, but it is very good to be home.

Jeff: I am sure it is. I imagine your life has changed dramatically in this past month, is that an accurate statement?

Chad: It could be an understatement. Swimming in South Africa is not really a mainstream sport. It must be said, and I think the last 10 days since I have been back has been, well it has been incredible. It has been overwhelming for me. You know we have had so much support from South Africa, and I must be honest I didn't actually think so many people in South Africa watch the Olympics.

Jeff: So let's talk about this 200 fly which was one of the big races everybody is still talking about. You won the gold medal by 4-100th's of a second ahead of Michael Phelps. Pretty much was the race of your life. I mean besides that amazing finish, what do you attribute to winning that gold medal?

Chad: You know this was–it really is a crazy story because I think a lot of people know now that — I've never really said it, but Phelps has been a role model and an inspiration to me growing up and I basically watched every single race that he swum since 2004. Every single 200 fly, I can commentate the race backwards if you want and I just remember going into the last turn, the last 50 meters and like actually everything went in slo-mo and I kind of came in and I remember saying to myself, Okay you better get this wall property because you know Michael is going to have a good last underwater and actually I kind of thought that I was Phelps, does that make sense? I kind of I thought I was him racing and I always remember how he used to come from behind and beat his competitors and I mean I guess I was very fortunate in the finish to have got the gold, but I mean it is incredible.

Jeff: Well after watching every race of his since 2004, I would imagine you definitely knew exactly how he was going to finish that race?

Chad: No, for sure.

Jeff: So you know we saw you on the deck. You know we saw you in the water celebrating. We saw you get out of the pool kind of have this elation. What was it like, what we didn't see in the moments before that medal ceremony. Tell us what went on for you in those few minutes?

Chad: Well I tried hard not to cry so much, but when I went around the media section and I came through my coach iwass waiting for me and I have never seen my coach cry before. I have never seen him. I have been with him now for 12 years and I mean his eyes were bloodshot red. He was like my dad. He was crying so much and you know I think I realized from that moment what it meant to my coach and what it meant to everybody you know and it really was incredible. We walked through and everybody, my whole team was waiting for me at the bottom in the cool down pool and I did like 100 meters cool down. I had a relay half an hour later but I ran to the call room where you get your medals and I remember seeing Michael and Takeshi there and you know usually it is like a bronze gold and then silver and then like I walked in and I just, I saw Michael standing at the silver and I was like, “Whoa, this is not like how it should it be.” It felt weird but it was awesome.

Jeff: Well, I mean this is obviously a passing of the torch. I mean very literally the moment you touched that wall. Are you prepared for that reality that you are now being looked at as the best 200 butterflyer now in the world?

Chad: I mean I guess like I said, it is hard to think about because I mean I have always gone into an event as underdog and I understand now that the target will be on my back just like it has been for Michael for so many years and I think– well, hopefully for me I can handle that pressure and have that responsibility you know I believe that with the support structure that I have now that we can you know move forward into 2016 and pull through each year and hopefully get better and well hopefully I can– like I said handle the pressure.

Jeff: Well this was your first Olympics and it is not unheard of for somebody to win a gold medal at their first Olympics, but I remember when you were on the show last time you just wanted to use this Olympics as a learning experience, because Rio was going to be your real breakout Olympics. How were you able to kind of have that kind of breakthrough at this Olympics? Was it something that you just really kind of believed at some point that this was going to be in the Olympics for you?

Chad: To be honest, I mean every time you are training you always thinking about winning an Olympic gold medal but you know when I arrived for the Olympics, I mean I don't know what it is like to be at an Olympic Games and I always heard that you know you have all Olympic Games, that is a lot bigger and I realized that when I arrived on Sunday night and I saw the magnitude of you know everybody, you know just being amongst the cream of the crop. Not just in the swimming world but you know in the sporting world in general. I mean we were rimming shoulders with the Dream Team, the basketball players you know Usain Bolt and the runners and you know it is an incredible feeling to be at the Olympics and I think you know when I swam that 200 fly I can remember, I don't know if this sounds crazy but I was actually quite relaxed before the race even. You know usually I am very nervous and I am excited before my swim and I just remember feeling really calm and sitting in the call room and I mean I don't know looking up and then, okay seeing Michael there and you know just like I don't know I got relaxed and you know that was odd for me. And I remember walking out before my race and just feeling like I don't know like I could do it, like I don't know, like I really believed like I could do it but at the same time there was always thoughts in my head saying, okay, maybe I will get a medal. I will be happy with a medal, but I don't know. I just felt very calm. That is what I remember.

Jeff: And then coming back and winning that silver in the 100 fly nobody really has known you as a 100 butterflyer, now here you are winning the silver you know tying for silver almost winning gold. I mean not too far of beating Michael Phelps and that one. I mean what is this Olympics meant for you in terms of you know just how well you and South Africa did at the meet?

Chad: I mean I think you know the records I think speaks for itself. You know we were very proud. I mean the whole team, the whole countries, we are proud of what we have done and it is the best Olympics we have had I mean since we got you know reinstated in 1992. You know we didn't really expect to come away with you know 3 medals, 2 of them being gold and I think that 100 fly was I mean now you can say it was a bit of a shock you know I came and see the 22nd I think in the world about 52.5. I don't know. I just like I said I just I went in there on the 100 fly feeling I also felt relaxed like I did for the 200 and I just kind of I don't know I enjoyed the race. You know I wanted to you know like I said be next to Michael again and obviously I wanted to win, but you know hats off to Michael he had a great race. I am proud to say that I got the silver.

Jeff: Well you know like you said you have been studying Michael Phelps' all of his races. If you swam that 100 fly like he does. I mean you were 8th at the 50 and you passed all those guys to get second. I mean obviously now I mean are you looking back thinking now I have got to get to work on my front end speed if I want to you know be a front runner for that 100 fly gold?

Chad: You know for sure definitely. I think I might need to get a bit more stronger. I don't really do much or I don't do any gym so that is going to be something that I am going to have to incorporate into my program. You know I think before the Olympic Games I would have thought that I would have got a medal in the 400 IM to be honest. That was my main, well besides the 200 fly, my main other medal shots and I guess it was the other way around you know coming in and getting the medal in the 100.

Jeff: Yeah, I don't think you could complain about it looking back.

Chad: No, not at all, not all.

Jeff: Well you just swam for briefly at the South Africa short course meet. You withdrew because you were sick. I would imagine you feeling better now?

Chad: Yes, you know I was feeling very, very run down after the long trip back home and even Cameron was also pretty sick so we kind of– we decided we would hopefully try swimming day 1 because I haven't trained since the 100 fly at the Olympics and I swam the 200 freestyle, I qualified and then I felt really bad that night so yeah. I just scratched.

Jeff: So you are the reigning short course champion in the 200 fly, will you be able to swim that in Turkey this December even though you didn't get to swim it at nationals?

Chad: Yes, I think so. I think I'm allowed to swim events that nobody, well not more than 2 people or 1 person qualified in that event, so hopefully I will swimming 200 freestyle. I swim the 200 fly, the 400 IM maybe and 100 fly and then maybe the 200 IM. I am not so sure if I am allowed to swim that, but hopefully I can swim those races and then obviously try to defend my title in the 200 fly. That would be something big for me.

Jeff: Yeah, I was just thinking about that 2010 meet. You wanted the same way you won the Olympics just by touch on that last stroke. I think this is starting to be the Chad Le Clos finish, getting it in on the last stroke.

Chad: You know, okay I am going to tell you a story about what happened in 2010. I swam the 400 IM on day 1 and I got 5th in the final, swimming out of lane 5. And 3 days later, 4 days later I swam the 200 fly. And in the 200 fly race, the world short course race, I had Laszlo Cseh in lane four, he was at that time he was the, you know the third fastest. He got the bronze medal 2 years before that and on my left side I had the world record holder short course, Kaio de Almeida and then lane 5 was me, okay. And I won the race by 5 one hundredths of a second. Olympic Games in lane 4 I had Takeshi Matsuda who was the Olympic bronze medalist and in lane 6 Michael Phelps you know Olympic Champion and world record holder, and then I was in 5 and I won it by 5 one hundredths of a second. So I don't what that means but that is a pretty crazy story.

Jeff: Yeah that is D?j? vu all over again.

Chad: Yeah, I guess so.

Jeff: Well before you go I understand that you actually shot some scenes for a feature film that is going to be coming out later this year correct?

Chad: Yes, yes.

Jeff: Tell us about that.

Chad: We I think that it is called First, I think it is coming out I think in the States I think the end of November, December. It is featuring 12 athletes from around the world that are going to be featured in there. I think it is more of a documentary about our lives before Olympics and how they have changed, so that is going to be pretty cool. I guess in the movies.

Jeff: So you said the title is called “First.”

Chad: Yeah, I think so. I am not so sure exactly, but I think that is what they say what is called.

Jeff: Oh, we are going to definitely have to be looking out for that Chad, you being a 20 foot tall on the movie screen. It will be a big moment for you I am sure.

Chad: For sure. Thank you. That would be great.

Jeff: All right, Chad thanks for joining us today again. We appreciate your time and congratulations on all the success you have had so far and good luck in all the continued success I am sure you will have.

Chad: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me again. I appreciate it.

Jeff: It is always a pleasure Chad.

Chad: Thanks Jeff.

Jeff: All right so that is Chad Le Clos joining us again on the Morning Swim Show as always we invite you to join us on Facebook and Twitter to post thoughts about the topics discussed on today's show. Our Twitter handle is @swimmingworld. I am Jeff Commings. Thanks for watching.

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