The sight of Olympic gold medalist Tyler Clary belly-flopping at major national meets has become a signature event. He started doing it in 2011, and has since done it for charity, done it for celebration, and sometimes, it appears, done it just because.
Swimming at the 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series – Charlotte meet on Friday, hosted by his home club SwimMAC Carolina, Clary got a local celebrity in on the action. Jon Wilson, who hosts the morning segment “Wilson’s World” on local Charlotte station WCCB, took on the challenge dressed head-to-toe in a wetsuit.
SwimSwam photographer Rafael Domeyko switched his still camera for his video camera and captured the above video of the showdown (note Tom Shields in the background appearing to be totally unphased by the antics). What made this even more perilous is that they did it during a crowded warmup session, which are always a 50/50 chance of escaping injury-free anyway.
It’s hard to give the nod to anyone put Clary, who hits square and with very little protecting himself, but we applaud Wilson’s effort and fearlessness in taking the challenge on full-eagle.
..That… Was… AWESOME!
Agreed. With the arms and legs spread out like that, it has to go down as one of the largest body surface areas flopped in history.
I challenge you, Tyler Clary! If I’m ever at a meet with him, it’s gonna go down lol 😉
Glad Clary beat him. I consider Belly flopping in a tech suit to be cheating.
Yep, Clary nailed it. Fearless leap, impeccable form, nailed the entry. 9/10.
Don’t try this at home, kids! It takes a well-trained professional swimmer to perform a skill like this! 😉