Chad Le Clos wins three gold medals in swimming events: Day two – 2011 Swimming World Cup - Part 1
Two-times Commonwealth gold medallist, Chad le Clos of South Africa continued his winning streak as he captured three more gold medals on the second day of the first leg of 2011 Swimming World Cup series in Dubai, on Saturday, October 8.
Le Clos, who already snatched gold medals of 400m Individual Medley (IM), 200m butterfly and 100m IM on the opening day of the championship, went rampant on the final night of the championship.
19-year-old Le Clos pocketed gold medal of 200m IM at the 2010 Dubai Short Course World Championships. He also won five medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games including two gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze finishes, where he won gold medals in
the events of 200m butterfly and 400m IM, respectively..
With his marvellous efforts, he collected a cash prize of $4500 on the second night, mounting up to a total of $9000 on the first leg of the seven stop series.
Just like the first night, Commonwealth champion collected his first gold medal of the night and fourth gold medal of the championship by sabotaging the efforts of his challengers in 200m IM.
He faced severe competition from his strongest rival, Dinko Jukic of Austria, who dictated terms to Le Clos throughout the race, but remained vulnerable against his effort in the final lap. Jukic gained a considerable lead over Le Clos in the first lap,
where he completed his lap in a fastest time of 24.53 seconds, staying ahead of Le Clos, who posted 24.92 seconds for the same distance.
The Austrian extended his lead to 0.71 seconds from 0.39 seconds in the second lap, completing his first half of the race with an effort of 53.23 seconds. Jukic maintained his fastest spot in the third-lap of the event, where he clocked a time of 1 minute
and 28.32 seconds.
Le Clos remained second fastest behind him as he clocked a time of 1 minute and 28.49 seconds. Just after the final turn, Le Close sprinted his way towards the finishing end, shattering the hopes of Jukic by submitting a time of 1 minute and 55.14 seconds.
With his exceptional effort in the final-lap, he earned a lead of 0.96 seconds over Jukic, who just lost his fourth title of the championship from Le Clos, finishing his swim in a time of 1 minute and 56.10 seconds for the silver medal.
Le Clos’s incredible strength in the four-lap IM event was nearly four seconds slower than the championship mark of 1 minute and 51.55 seconds made by South Africa’s Darian Townsend in 2009.
The third position of the race was secured by a Japanese swimmer, Yuma Kosaka, who remained slightly slower than his former finisher and proved his mettle for bronze medal. Kosaka stayed only 0.83 seconds slower than Jukic, reporting a time of 1 minute and
56.93 seconds for third position.
After clinching his fourth gold medal, Le Clos was scheduled to take part in the finals of 100m butterfly and 200m back-stroke. His sensational swim in the IM discipline has already aroused the expectations of his fans and they could not wait to see what
he brings in his remaining events.
Continued in Part 2
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