Still no sign of Chad's luggage

He may be one of the world's most famous swimmers, but three weeks on, Chad le Clos still has not been reunited with his "lost" suitcase containing his racing kit, despite the efforts of his coach, his London agents and the media.

He was forced to compete in the Mare Nostrum series event in Canet-en-Roussillon, France, on Sunday, June 18 in borrowed costumes and goggles, after Turkish Airlines lost his luggage.

He'd arrived in Barcelona on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul three days earlier, and was horrified to discover that his checked-in suitcase, containing all his competition kit, swimming equipment, shoes and other clothing, had not.

On the Saturday night he tweeted: "Dear @TurkishAirlines Always had good service, my luggage is still missing for two days, need my kit asap #racingtomorrow #helppls???"

The airline's "help desk" responded within half an hour, saying they were "deeply sorry" to hear that, and asking him to DM them his lost luggage reference number.

But the suitcase never materialised and Le Clos and his coach flew on to Rome to compete in the Sette Colli (Seven Hills) competition the following Friday.

"He had to borrow kit to compete in his freestyle and fly events, which is not ideal because his racing costumes are highly specialised," said his mother, Geraldine.

In the three-day Rome event, Le Clos swam in new kit which his sponsor Arena had delivered.

The swimmer arrived back last Tuesday, still without his suitcase.

Speaking from London, a spokesman for his agents - who asked not to be named - said the suitcase went to Rome airport while Le Clos was still in the city, but it never made it to his hotel.

"Airport officials told me to fill in a form with a copy of Chad's passport in order to get the suitcase through customs and delivered to his hotel," she said.

"I complied, but nothing happened, and I got no response to my follow-up e-mails.

"I've been messaging daily on the missing baggage file on the Turkish Airlines website, asking for the case's whereabouts and when it will be delivered, but I've only had one response, a generic 'sorry for inconvenience' type message," Le Clos' agent said.