2018 finished on a high for Le Clos. Following the successful medal haul at the Commonwealth Games earlier in the year, the FINA Short Course World Championships in Hangzhou weren’t to disappoint. Chad brought home 4 medals – one gold, two silvers and one bronze in the 100mfly, 200m fly / 50m fly, and 100m free respectively.
He was up against tough competition and he gained his first medal in the 200m butterfly beating his own PB and setting a new African record. With a time of 1:48.32, he touched faster that his own world record previously set back in 2013, only just taking silver to Japan’s Daiya Seto.
Day three of the competition saw Chad defend his world 100m fly title in a time of 48.50. That same day he earned his third medal, silver in the 50m butterfly. He then went on to achieve a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, bringing his total medal tally for the Championships to 4.
After the Championships Chad continued his success outside the pool at the FINA World Aquatics Gala, where he was named “2018 Best Male Swimmer of the Year”, an accolade that he also won back in 2014. He was honoured to receive this award and dedicated it to his teammate and friend Cameron van der Burgh who had announced his retirement from swimming a few days earlier.
