Sunday, 19 December 2010 00:00
Chad le Clos powers final 50m for gold
South Africa’s Chad le Clos saved the best for last when he raced to a gold medal in the 200m butterfly on the final day of the FINA World Short Course Championships in Dubai tonight.
After the 100m mark, 18 year old Le Clos was in third place followed by a fifth place after the 150m mark. It was still anyone’s race, but Le Clos turned on the power in the last few metres to win in a time of 1:51.56 with Kaio Almeida from Brazil claiming the silver in 1:51.61 followed by László Cseh from Hungary in 1:51.67.
Le Clos also won gold in the 200m butterfly at the Commonwealth Games and added the World Championships to his list.
“I could not believe it. I was quite surprised as I thought I was way behind. I saw the replay and I was really lucky with my touch as it was a very tight race.
“I do not think that it has sunk in yet, perhaps when I get my medal and after I have spoken to my dad it will feel real,” said Le Clos who had tears in his eyes at the medal ceremony when the South African Anthem was played.
Cameron van der Burgh and Roland Schoeman were also in action in the finals of the 50m breaststroke.
It was a very close race between Van der Burgh and Brazilian Felipe Silva, who won with a time of 25.95 while Van der Burgh bagged the silver in 26.03. Aleksander Hetland from Norway won the bronze in 26.29, with Schoeman finishing in fourth position clocking 26.41.
“It was just one of those days. I would rather win a gold in the 100m than the 50m because at the Olympics the 50m is not swum. I have gold and silver from the Championships and I am very happy with that,” said Van der Burgh.
Earlier on in the day, Heerden Herman swam the 1,500m freestyle in the morning heats and finished in 10th place with a time of 14:50.10.
In the 200m freestyle, Leone Vorster finished 13th in a time of 1:55.89, just two seconds slower than Kathryn Hoff of the USA who swam a top time of 1:53.48.
Jessica Pengelly ended 22nd in the 200m breaststroke race in a time of 2:28.93.
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