The documentary, Born Racer, is the untold story of Olympian swimmer Chad Le Clos about family, love, winning, losing, and redemption.
SuperSport will debut Born Racer, a compelling and moving documentary, on June 30. The movie is an unvarnished account of Chad Le Clos’ life as a professional swimmer who overcame great challenges to achieve distinction in the swimming community.
Collective memory will have the world reminiscing on July 31, 2012, when 19-year-old Le Clos stunned the swimming world by beating the greatest swimmer of all time, American Michael Phelps at the London Olympics.
The arc of the film hones in on how the high of being an award-winning global star was succeeded by a downward trend of Olympic disappointment, including losing out on gold in the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. In its deeply personal treatment, Born Racer sees Le Clos in contemplation of the meaning and the pursuit of happiness.
Born Racer spends four years documenting the reality of life for an Olympic champion – from the United Kingdom to Turkey, Australia to Germany the Middle East to Japan, through a global pandemic, and multiple world sporting events. This honest story goes to the depths of Chad’s past and his family’s humble roots and ultimately shows us what it takes to succeed as a South African in the modern sports world where the resource divide grows wider and wider every year.
“This was not the film that I expected back in 2018 when we started!” says Le Clos.
“While the film shows the sacrifices and struggles that many professional athletes like me go through, it chronicles some of the most difficult times in my career, when I was lost, and depressed but still giving it my all. I hope it shows what resilience and redemption look like, particularly with the incredible support of my family.”
Le Clos hopes that the documentary can inspire the next generation of South African swimmers to train hard, set their own goals, and beat his records. He also thinks that Born Racer celebrates our resilience as a nation.
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