Le Clos resets career, life to help banish Rio sadness

With a new coach and a new home in Cape Town, Chad le Clos is looking to break new ground this year and bury his 2016 Rio Olympic ghost.

Le Clos, who announced on Friday that he had linked up with experienced Italian coach Andrea Di Nino, said he wanted to win the 200m butterfly at the world championships in Budapest in July.

"That's still my race. Winning gold is my first goal, but I [also] want to do a personal best time," said the swim star, who fired long-time mentor Graham Hill last year. "It's been five years since I did my best time."

That was the 1min 52.96sec he clocked while dethroning Michael Phelps at the London 2012 Olympics.

When he added the 200m 'fly world title to his trophy cabinet in 2013 Le Clos seemed invincible.

But in 2015 he lost his world crown to Hungarian Laszlo Cseh and then came Brazil, where the South African ended fourth behind a triumphant Phelps.

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Le Clos still won silver medals in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly to become SA's most decorated Olympian with four medals, but that was overshadowed by his 200m 'fly blowout.

"Rio was very disappointing," Le Clos said. "I'm definitely over it compared to a few months ago. I didn't even want to watch the race. I was very down.

"I swam a slow final lap. I haven't swum that slow for ages. That wasn't me."

He and Di Nino will focus on the 200m and 100m butterfly as well as the 100m and 200m freestyle.

Le Clos said he would swim all four at the national championships in April, but he had yet to settle on his world championship schedule apart from the two 'fly races.

Le Clos pointed out that even without the now-retired Phelps, the 200m 'fly would be one of the races of Budapest.

He would take on Cseh in his own back yard as well as the Olympic silver and bronze medallists, Masato Sakai of Japan and Tamas Kenderesi, another Hungarian.

"The 200m is going to be a great race," said Le Clos, who last year relocated from Durban to Cape Town, where he is renovating a Sea Point apartment.

"I'm very positive about the new set-up," Le Clos said. "I really have a good feeling about everything."