The ultimate competitor, Chad le Clos has been to the mountain tops of sport. Seventeen years into his international racing career, the 31-year-old Durban, South Africa native has weathered his bit of adversity along the way to get there.
From getting his start in the sport at age eight with Seagulls Swimming Club to winning World, Olympic and Commonwealth Games medals across three decades - 2000s, 2010s and 2020s - le Clos is the all-time winningest male in Swimming World Cup history with 151 golds to his credit.
On the eve of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 tour, we caught up with a relaxed and confident le Clos that also let us into the vulnerabilities that an athlete can feel coming off a long illness that knocked le Clos out of this year's World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka.
Just eight months earlier, le Clos showed of his best form ever, punctuated by his double gold medal performance where he also smashed his own African Record in the 200m Butterfly at the World Swimming Championships (25m) last December in Melbourne, Australia.
Another year, another Swimming World Cup season, and we see you signed up for another full racing tour. What's it about World Cup racing that brings you back, year after year?
The Swimming World Cup series is one of the best opportunities that I have ever had in my racing career. With all of the stops being in Europe makes for a great circuit for this year’s tour, but the timing of these Swimming World Cups is a bit unfortunate for me at this time.
It's been a tough time for me, especially with the virus that I had had for four months that kept me out of the World Aquatics Championships this past summer.
While the preparation may not have been ideal, how do you feel about being back here in Berlin?
I have raced in Berlin many times. My fan base is very big in Germany and I now train full-time in Frankfurt. When I race in Berlin, outside of being in Budapest, I have the largest cheer from the German fans.
My mother was even more excited for the second week of racing because she has never been to Athens. So it will be my brother, my mom and my dad at all three stops to watch me race and to enjoy a holiday. I am very, very excited to be here.
This isn’t your first rodeo, so to say, racing the Swimming World Cup. What do you remember from those first couple of years on the World Cup tour?
My first World Cup was in Durban in 2007, when I was a 15-year-old. made the final in the 200 breaststroke and I came 8th. That was my first step up to the world level.
I actually won my first World Cup medal in Berlin in the 400 IM ( 4:02.7) from lane 6. I was so psyched that week because I was expecting to race Oussama Meloulli. I was so excited to race him because he was a legend from my continent, Africa. I know that he probably would have smashed me, but unfortunately, he pulled out before the event.
The World Cup has always been a great competition for me. You see how great the field of competitors is here in Berlin and most are racing in all three of the 2023 Swimming World Cup events. It is a really high-level series. I really love the World Cups because you have to be good every week.
As you mentioned, your family is here in Berlin and will be travelling with you to Athens and Budapest. What role have they played in getting you into the sport and staying with it at such an elite level for so long?
I am blessed to have a great family, and the number one supporter is my father. I have spoken about him many times. Without my Dad, I would not be anything.
I am with a great coach now, Dirk Lange, and he has made a lot of positive changes, but number one will always be my father.
He was helping me to make decisions from the start. When it comes to helping his family, no sacrifice is too great. That is so beautiful. I give him full credit for everything that I have achieved.
What are you motivated by – both back in the day and today?
I sacrificed my social life as a teenager. I am highly motivated by legacy; I want to be the best short-course swimmer, ever. I am proud of that.
When I was named Swimmer of the Year (Chad won the award in 2014 and 2018), that really motivated me. That was a huge moment for me and I had tears in my eyes when I was announced as the best swimmer of the world. It was an honour that Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte once received.
I just want to be the best I can be.
Getting to the heights you’ve reached hasn’t always been a smooth path to the top of those peaks. We can only imagine what its been like to traverse some of the valleys you’ve had along the way.
I want everyone to know that I have always been willing to walk into the storm and that I am willing to bleed if it will make me better. I just like to compete.
I have always been able to keep my spirits up while being in the fire, especially in training.
I love the competition aspect of the World Cups and I will rise to the occasion. I love swimming for sure. But I love competing even more. I like to say that swimming chose me, I never chose swimming.
We missed seeing you in Fukuoka for the Worlds after seeing you light it up in the butterfly events in Melbourne last December at the short course Worlds. How has it been going recently?
The last several months have been hard. The last two weeks have been intense. It may be the hardest time for me to get on the podium at these World Cup events. If it's a medal in the World Cups, even better.
I have never not won a World Cup over the last 15 years, but it may be difficult for me to win one here. And if I win here, I will be very great and very surprised.
This is more of a stepping stone towards my trials and also for the Doha Worlds. I will try to improve at each stop, to improve each month. Then, the focus in December will be qualifying for the Olympics to represent my country.
It's very important to get on the podium in Doha, and perhaps to finish in the top-5 in the 100m free if that is my second event.
Then it’s on to Paris for the Olympics to face the world and to try to win. If it’s a bronze next year, I am going to celebrate that.
We aren't done after that; we are going to Los Angeles. My mind is strong, I am bulletproof and my body will have to give up first.
"My mind is strong, I am bulletproof and my body will have to give up first."
Respectfully I have said to my competitors: If you measure up to me, I believe that I come out on top every single time. Maybe I will never win again, but I will never give up.
Contributing: Torin Koos