Chad le Clos was on Wednesday dethroned by the fastest 200m butterfly swimmer of all time‚ a Hungarian teen who scuppered Michael Phelps’ 10-year-old world record by nearly a full second.
Le Clos led for the first two laps‚ but when Kristof Milak powered past on the second half of the race‚ the South African had no answer.
Milak clocked 1min 50.73sec ahead of Japan’s Daiya Seto in 1:53.86.
Le Clos hung on for the bronze medal in 1:54.15‚ just ahead of Italian Federico Burdisso in 1:54.39.
“That was a tough race‚” said Le Clos.
“I tried my best. I went out very hard the first 100. I thought I could win the race‚ I tried to really test his chin‚ but he was resilient.
“He was fantastic — 1:50-point is a freestyle time … He’s got a bright future ahead of him‚” added the 27-year-old SA star‚ who at the last championship two years ago won the final in 1:53.33.
Le Clos‚ who failed to make the 100m ’fly final at Budapest in 2017‚ is looking forward to having a tilt to reclaim a crown he won in 2013 and 2015.
“The 100 is going to be good. My [first] 50 was good — 24.13. I look forward to racing Dressel.”
American speed king Caeleb Dressel is the defending champion.
The 100m butterfly heats are on Friday.
Le Clos was recently diagnosed with a groin hernia‚ but he’s refused to use that as an excuse.
“I have lot of work to do. I go back home‚ start my rehab for my groin next week Monday. I’ll come back stronger‚ I’ll be very competitive with him [Milak] next year. I promise that …
“I’ll come to hunt him down next year…”
Tatjana Schoenmaker returns for the heats in her favourite 200m breaststroke on Thursday.
- TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.
I'll hunt him down next year‚ says bronze medallist Chad le Clos
Image: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Chad le Clos was on Wednesday dethroned by the fastest 200m butterfly swimmer of all time‚ a Hungarian teen who scuppered Michael Phelps’ 10-year-old world record by nearly a full second.
Le Clos led for the first two laps‚ but when Kristof Milak powered past on the second half of the race‚ the South African had no answer.
Milak clocked 1min 50.73sec ahead of Japan’s Daiya Seto in 1:53.86.
Le Clos hung on for the bronze medal in 1:54.15‚ just ahead of Italian Federico Burdisso in 1:54.39.
“That was a tough race‚” said Le Clos.
“I tried my best. I went out very hard the first 100. I thought I could win the race‚ I tried to really test his chin‚ but he was resilient.
“He was fantastic — 1:50-point is a freestyle time … He’s got a bright future ahead of him‚” added the 27-year-old SA star‚ who at the last championship two years ago won the final in 1:53.33.
Le Clos‚ who failed to make the 100m ’fly final at Budapest in 2017‚ is looking forward to having a tilt to reclaim a crown he won in 2013 and 2015.
“The 100 is going to be good. My [first] 50 was good — 24.13. I look forward to racing Dressel.”
American speed king Caeleb Dressel is the defending champion.
The 100m butterfly heats are on Friday.
Le Clos was recently diagnosed with a groin hernia‚ but he’s refused to use that as an excuse.
“I have lot of work to do. I go back home‚ start my rehab for my groin next week Monday. I’ll come back stronger‚ I’ll be very competitive with him [Milak] next year. I promise that …
“I’ll come to hunt him down next year…”
Tatjana Schoenmaker returns for the heats in her favourite 200m breaststroke on Thursday.
- TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.
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