Chad le Clos Eyes Commonwealth History On 10-Year Anniversary Of Shock Victory Over Michael Phelps At London 2012

Marco Alpozzi / LaPresse 26-07-2017 Budapest Sport 17mi Campionati Mondiali FINA di nuoto - Finale 200 metri Farfalla Maschile nella foto: Chad Le Clos RSA Marco Alpozzi / LaPresse 2017-07-26 Budapest Sport 17th FINA World Championships - Final - men's 200m butterfly in the photo: Chad Le Clos RSA

Photo Courtesy: Marco Alpozzi /LaPresse

Chad le Clos Eyes Commonwealth History On 10-Year Anniversary Of Shock Victory Over Michael Phelps At London 2012

Chad le Clos produced an upset that sent shockwaves through the Aquatics Centre and beyond when he beat Michael Phelps on the final stroke to take the 200-meter butterfly title at the London Olympics.

Swimming from Lane Five, the South African spotted his finish perfectly on the night of July 31, 2012, while Phelps glided into the wall, to claim his first Olympic medal by .05. It denied the American a three-peat following victories over four lengths at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, ahead of his first retirement, although Phelps did return to take the crown at Rio 2016.

Fast-forward 10 years to the hour and all being well for le Clos, he will line up for the 200 fly final at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, taking a crack at his fourth straight title. In a huge coincidence, the final on Sunday, July 31 starts at 7:28 p.m. with the Olympic decider having started at 7:52 p.m., exactly 10 years earlier.

Le Clos said:

“On the same day as my gold in 2012 – almost to the minute – 20 minutes before. It’s wild, huh?

“If I get in Lane Five, Jimmy (James Guy) is just going to have to let me win it.”

Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu/ISL

Casting his mind back 10 years, le Clos told Swimming World:

“It was the 400 IM around about now, so I came fifth in that race and I was quite confident that I was going to be all right in the two fly.

“You can never really predict the gold medal. People always talk about it.

“I knew that I was in with a shout, I believed I could do it but I was still a kid.

“David Popovici (who won double freestyle gold at the Budapest worlds) knew he was probably good enough to win the gold but he still had to do it, you know. You can be as good as you like on paper but you still have to do it.

“I think for me I was just really very happy to be a part of that and be a part of the whole…..the atmosphere was incredible, the crowd going nuts, coming out there was like wow.”

Le Clos On Brink Of Commonwealth History

Chad Le Clos – Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia D’Alberto /LaPresse

Le Clos will become the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history if he wins two medals at Birmingham 2022.

He’s claimed 17 medals so far across three Games – a swimming record – and one more will see him draw level with Michael Gault of England and Australian Phil Adams in shooting, with a further trip to the podium making him the outright leading medallist.

He’ll compete in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, as well as relays, weeks after he was forced to withdraw from the World Championships following illness which affected his breathing. He will have sinus surgery following the Games.

It has been a rough 18 months or so for the four-time world champion, who had a traumatic experience in early 2021 that left him “super depressed.” But he is focusing solely on the pool.

“We’ll take that (the medals record) whatever way it comes.

“I am very excited. I have prepared as well as I could with everything that has happened. I’m in good shape.

“I don’t make excuses. If I’m going to race, I’m going to race.

“I’m ready to go – whatever that is, if it’s gold, silver or bronze, I’m not sure what it’ll be but I’m confident I’ll pick up a medal or two – or maybe three. We’ll see what happens.”

Now 30, le Clos has always insisted he will be in the mix at Paris 2024 in what would be his fourth Games, three years after finishing fifth in Tokyo.

“I am going to be there in two years time competing for medals for sure: people can say what they want, they all think I’m washed, a lot of people think that, but we’ll see what happens.”

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