Record breaker Chad le Clos: Glancing back

Following his historic effort in the Fina World Cup at the weekend, becoming the first man to win the overall title four times in the annual series, we look back on some of the highlights of Chad le Clos’ spectacular career.

August 2010 

Making a statement at global level for the first time, at the age of 18, Le Clos rakes in five medals at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, including gold in the 200m medley. He contributes more than half the nation’s nine podium places.

December 2010 

Taking another big step forward in his early development, Le Clos races to gold at the World Short-Course Championships in Dubai, holding off Brazilian world record holder Kaio Almeida in the 200m butterfly final to earn his first global senior title.

August 2012

Delivering the most impressive single performance of his career, Le Clos stuns American legend Michael Phelps to secure the 200m butterfly gold medal at the Olympic Games in London. Three days later he adds the silver medal over 100m in his specialist stroke.

July 2014

Dominating the competition in the pool, Le Clos bags seven medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, including gold in the 100m and 200m butterfly events. He equals the record held by Australian star Ian Thorpe for the most medals earned at a single edition of the Games.

December 2016 

A few months after failing to live up to the hype at the Rio Olympics, where he settled for two silver medals after being touted as the successor to Phelps, Le Clos bounces back to successfully defend his 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly titles at the World Short Course Championships in Windsor. In the 100m final, he touches the wall in 48.08 to clip 0.36 off his own world record.

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