Chad le Clos picked up two wins on the first day of the South African Grand Prix in Stellenbosch. le Clos won the men’s 200 butterfly in a time of 1:56.60 and followed that up with a victory in the 100 freestyle recording a time of 48.92. The Olympic champion has competed in the two previous Grand Prix events in Durban and Port Elizabeth. Two weeks ago in Durban he won the 200 butterfly in a time of 1:56.42 while last weekend in Port Elizabeth he put up a 50.04 in the 100 freestyle.
le Clos’ 2015-16 season’s best in the 200 butterfly is a 1:55.80 and a 48.38 in the 100 freestyle.
Cameron van der Burgh, who swept the breaststroke events in Durban, won the men’s 50 breaststroke in a time of 27.72. In Durban van der Burgh won the same event in a time of 27.74 and has a season’s best of 26.74.
There were several British swimmers in action in Stellenbosch including Commonwealth Games medalist Lauren Quigley who won the women’s 50 freestyle and 200 backstroke. Quigley posted a 25.70 in the 50 freetyle and went on to claim the 200 backstroke title in a time of 2:13.89. Quigley’s teammates Holly Hibbott and Lucy Mckenzie also collected gold on the first day of competition. Hibbot won the 800 freestyle in a time of 8:51.50 while Mckenzie took the 200 IM in a time of 2:19.40.
South African team veteran Karin Prinsloo won the 200 freestyle in a time of 2:01.46.
I think Chad is becoming a 100 free swimmer 😛
Is that because his flat start textile best in the 100m free (48.16) is faster than Mp’s? The fact that Le Clos is a faster swimmer than MP, tells you more about his 100 fly prospects in Rio, than anything to do with the 100m free. He may well swim the 100m free in Rio and make the final, but McEvoy and Co. are just too specialized and too fast for him to get onto the podium. Unfortunately his countrymen don’t provide enough support for a shot at a final spot in the relay. That being said, his raw speed makes him a very difficult man to beat in the 100m Fly.