Chad Le Clos dominates Men’s 200m butterfly semi-finals: Day three -
South African LC Nationals
Chad Le Clos of KZNA-KZ dominated the semi-finals of Men’s 200m butterfly on third day of the South African Long Course Nationals at the KZN Aquatic-Kings Park Centre in Durban on Wednesday, April 18.
The 20-year-old Le Clos continued his thrilling form on third day of the championship and entered the final round as fastest swimmer for gold medal.
Le Clos remained prominent for the top qualification spot from the start of the race. With his immaculate efforts, he stayed considerably ahead of his fellow rivals and ended his first lap of the race with the timing of 25.71 seconds.
He was trailed by Sebastien Rousseau of WPA-WP, who remained nearly one second behind Le Clos and ended his initial lap of the event with the timing of 26.45 seconds.
Le Clos, who won gold medal of the 200m butterfly at the 2010 Dubai World Championships, continued his nerve-wrecking form in the second lap and posted a time of 55.12 seconds.
He was followed by Rousseau, who stayed nearly two seconds behind and ended his first round of the race by posting a time of 56.37 seconds.
With his persistent efforts, Le Clos succeeded in extending his lead in the third lap, where he clocked an effort of 1 minute and 25.15 seconds.
His stupendous effort place him in a lead of nearly two body lengths over Rousseau, who covered the equivalent distance with the timing of 1 minute and 27.09 seconds.
Le Clos went full rampant in the final lap, where he elevated his pace and ensured his top finish on the finishing end by submitting a time of 1 minute and 55.30 seconds.
Similarly, Rousseau remained 2.33 seconds slower from him and qualified into the playoff as second best swimmer by reporting a time of 1 minute and 57.63 seconds.
He was followed by Dylan Bosch of CGA-CG, who seized third best qualification spot of the race by ending his swim in a time of 2 minutes and 01.95 seconds.
In addition, these finalists will contend each other in the playoff for gold medal of the 200m discipline.
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