Is Chad Le Clos playing possum again? The South African star exploded off the blocks for three lengths in the 200m butterfly semifinals at the world championships in Budapest on Tuesday night.
Le Clos led by nearly a body length for three lengths‚ and then he died dramatically on the final length as he fell back to finish third in 1min 55.09sec‚ behind Hungary’s reigning world champion Laszlo Cseh (1:54.22) and his compatriot‚ Olympic bronze medallist Tamas Kenderesi (1:54.98).
And that wasn’t even the quicker of the two semifinals. Earlier‚ Daiya Seto of Japan won his race in 1:54.03‚ with American Jack Conger second (1:55.30) and Olympic silver medallist Masato Sakai third (1:55.57).
Le Clos’ antics were reminiscent of what he did in the 200m freestyle at the 2016 Olympics‚ where he went out hard in the semifinals and died late.
In that final‚ however‚ he pushed hard and hung on for silver in a 1:45.20 African record‚ which on Tuesday night would have got him a bronze medal in that event behind Olympic champion Sun Yang of China.
Le Clos withdrew from the freestyle race in Budapest to focus on the butterfly‚ looking to win the 100m crown for a third straight championship‚ and try his damnedest to reclaim the title he won four years ago in 2013.
The Olympic 200m fly champion at the London 2012 Games ended a painful fourth in Rio that has haunted him since‚ and he goes into the final on Wednesday night seeded fourth.
But his smile after Tuesday’s semifinal suggested his race might have gone according to plan and that there is still another trick up his sleeve.
Cameron van der Burgh swam the fastest 50m breaststroke of his life on Tuesday morning‚ but he went a little slower in the evening semifinals as he booked his spot in Wednesday night’s final where he is looking to reach the podium at his sixth consecutive world championships.
Van der Burgh had entered new territory as he touched in a 26.54 African record‚ but his main rival‚ Englishman Adam Peaty‚ lowered his own world record twice‚ going 26.10 in the morning and then 25.95 in the second semifinal.
“It’s impressive hey‚ he’s the first one in history [to go under 26 seconds]‚” said Van der Burgh.
“He’s a legend‚ it’s a privilege to watch such amazing swimming in my lifetime.”
Van der Burgh‚ 29‚ didn’t deliver his trademark strong start in the first semifinal‚ and he was edged to the wall by 32-year-old Brazilian Felipe Lima‚ who touched in 26.68.
Van der Burgh’s 26.74 placed him third overall‚ ahead of Russian Kirill Prigoda in 26.85.
Van der Burgh was 18 when he won his first championship medal‚ a bronze in the 50m breaststroke at Melbourne 2007‚ and he has amassed nine gongs from the past five editions.
- TimesLIVE