Chad le Clos Targeting Ryan Lochte’s Record for Most SCW Titles in 2024

2022 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, December 13 to Sunday, December 18, 2022
• Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre, Melbourne, Australia
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Chad le Clos has his sights set on catching Ryan Lochte’s record of 14 individual titles at the next Short Course World Championships.

The 30-year-old Olympic champion from South Africa won his 11th and 12th career individual gold medals at Short Course Worlds this week in the 100 butterfly (48.59) and 200 fly (personal-best 1:48.27). Defending those titles at the next Short Course Worlds would bring le Clos even with Lochte atop the all-time leaderboard.

Lochte owns four Short Course World titles in the 200 IM, three in the 100 IM, three in the 400 IM, two in the 200 back, and two in the 200 free. He swept the IMs in 2010 and 2012, completing a triple that wasn’t replicated in any stroke until Ryan Murphy triumphed in all three backstroke events this year. Meanwhile, le Clos has claimed five individual victories in the 100 fly, four in the 200 fly, two in the 50 fly, and one in the 200 free.

At last year’s Short Course Worlds in Abu Dhabi, le Clos failed to defend his 100 fly title and dropped to bronze in the 200 fly. But after overcoming some mental health struggles in the wake of last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, the butterfly specialist has experienced a career resurgence this year, starting with October’s World Cup stop in Berlin.

“The Berlin World Cup kickstarted the journey that I am on now,” said le Clos, who now trains in Germany with coach Dirk Lange’s Frankfurt program. “Tonight capped off an unbelievable week, and in fact an unbelievable year actually looking back now.

“What you see is Chad le Clos 2.0,” he added, referencing the nickname he coined for himself after winning the 100 fly at the Berlin World Cup stop.

“Tonight’s performance was really just for me — it’s been an emotional week because I really haven’t won in four years. It’s been a long time since I have been happy. The truth is that I have been in a bad place for the last two years.”

Taking silver in the 100 fly was 17-year-old Canadian Ilya Kharun, who wasn’t far behind le Clos with a new World Junior Record of 49.03.

“Ilya (Kharun) was good tonight and he may give me some trouble in a couple of months,” le Clos foreshadowed.

Other Notes from Day 6 Quotes

• Maggie MacNeil approached her world-record 100 fly race with the goal of negative-splitting, and the 22-year-old Canadian had no complaints about her execution on Sunday: “I am known for negative splitting my races. My goal was to negative split this race and I am really, really pleased about the result… I knew that Torri (Huske) and Louise (Hansson) would be out fast and my goal was to stick with them and use my back half.”
• Siobhan Haughey preferred the 200 free when it was on the first day of competition like last year: “I kinda wish the 200 free was on the first day like last year but this year it’s on the last day of the meet. I had to watch everyone else race before my main event. I am pretty happy with it. I tried to focus on my own race so I couldn’t really see where everyone else was, and I just did my race. After the 100 I felt pretty great. I was hopeful for a good 200. I was hoping for a faster time but I am still happy with it.”
• Tom Dean now boasts medals at every major international competition after the 22-year-old Brit brought home bronze in the 200 free on Sunday: “I am really happy with the bronze. I now have a medal in every major competition and this was something I was proud to do.”