2022 FINA WORLD CUP – BERLIN
- Friday, October 21 – Sunday, October 23, 2022
- Europa-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany
- SCM (25 meters)
- Start Times
- Prelims: 8:30 am local / 2:30 am ET
- Finals: 7:00 pm local / 1:00 pm ET
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results (Omega)
- Live Stream (FINA YouTube)
- Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet
It appears that South African Olympic champion Chad Le Clos is back. After a coaching change and some therapy, Le Clos had his best swim in the race in two years on Friday.
While competing on day one of the 2022 FINA World Cup Series stop in Berlin, Germany, 30-year-old Le Clos put up a smoldering time of 48.58 to take gold in the men’s 100m butterfly.
He opened in 22.65 and brought it home in a super quick 25.93 to log his quickest time since 2020.
“I’m absolutely over the moon,” Le Clos said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start. It was very important for me to get the win tonight. The time wasn’t important; I couldn’t really care about the time. I just wanted to win, bad. I’ve taken a lot of losses lately and I’m done with that now.”
Race Video:
This is the Men's 100m Butterfly FINAL!
Le Clos, Shields, Ponti, Rivolta and Kusch – who is going to make it?! #swimming #SWC2022 pic.twitter.com/Qt09BFmfRW
— FINA (@fina1908) October 21, 2022
The versatile ace handily beat a stacked field tonight, one which included the reigning Olympic bronze medalist Noe Ponti of Switzerland, as well as Italian national record holder Matteo Rivolta and American Tom Shields. Ponti snagged silver in a new Swiss national standard of 49.38 while Rivolta also landed on the podium in 49.75. Shields settled for 4th place in 49.96.
As for Le Clos, his outing here represents the 6th-fastest time of his own career, as well as the 10th-fastest performance in history.
Chad Le Clos‘ Top 100 SCM Butterfly Performances
- 48.08 – 2016
- 48.44 – 2014
- 48.45 – 2020
- 48.50 – 2018
- 48.56 – 2014
- 48.58 – 2022
- 48.59 – 2014
Le Clos’ result comes after a tumultuous past couple of years as the South African has been dealing with mental health issues. He first opened up about thoughts of depression this past May, saying he was “was in a dark place, even after the [2020] Olympics. I was super depressed.”
He revealed more just earlier this month, detailing how in November of 2021 he “was absolutely rock bottom. Absolutely rock bottom. From there I got help and I started speaking regularly to someone.”
Le Clos ended up missing the first two matches of the ISL playoffs that his team, Energy Standard, competed in last year, and didn’t return to competition until November 25th.
Flashforward to 2022 and Le Clos wound up withdrawing from the 100m and 200m butterfly events and settled for 33rd in the 50m field at this year’s World Championships in Budapest.
He did rebound somewhat in Birmingham a couple of months later, collecting silver in the 200m butterfly at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Since then, Le Clos underwent a coaching change, recently joining Dirk Lange‘s Frankfurt program in his bid to compete at a fourth Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
This outfit now serves as a permanent training base for Le Clos, who previously had been bouncing around between his native country, Dubai, Turkey, the U.K., Spain, France and Monaco under the direction of coach Sonny Trigg.
Either singularly or together, the mental health assistance and new training environment seem to be doing Le Clos’ body and mind some good. We’ll see how this champion continues to progress not only through Berlin but into the next two legs of the World Cup, this year’s Short Course World Championships and beyond.
Hey Chad it’s time to shave full body
Well done Chad and Dirk – your future awaits you!
Noted, a kind person does not want to wish Chad well – shame on you! Who are you, come forward….or, hide…the action of a twit!
Wut
Also great to see Shields dip under :50.
Le Clos and Shields are 2 of the all time great professional swimmers.
Really happy for him, especially in light of the recent struggles he has spoken about.
Wow. I just wish that wherever he is, he is where he wants to be. Good for you, Chad!
Perhaps that 2024 bronze in the 100 fly isn’t much of a reach,. if he can near his best form in the 200 this week, i think he has a shot.
Calm down, this is short course my friend. He’s a bathtub swimmer.
Milak, Dressel and co are going to demolish him in the olympic sized pool.
Plus he went past 15m in this swim on his second turn…
He said getting Bronze isn’t MUCH OF A REACH and he didn’t say anything about beating Milak and Dressel.
He’s got 4 individual Olympic medals in 3 different events. He literally beat Michael Phelps in his signature event at the Olympics in a long course pool.
How many “bathtub swimmers” won 4 individual Olympic medals including a gold?
Ahem, that’s Dressel, Milak (not Milak, Dressel).
A bathtub swimmer with Olympic gold in the 2Fly.. 🤔
Anonymous internet and social media comments – bring out the ugly.
“Bathtub swimmer”?
Don’t recall many swimmers beating Michael Phelps for 200 m Fly Olympic gold.
He’s a cross generational swimmer for the ages.
Your comments, however, belong in another part of the bathroom.
Not saying this will happen but imagine if he were to go a best time in the OLY final at 32 years old say he dips under 50.5 or even 50.4?