They laughed together on the podium. After mutters, shadow-boxing and Darth Maul glares, they shared a joke as they stood together for their three-way tie for silver. Some on social media giggled that Michael Phelps was mocking the size of the team tracksuit of Chad le Clos. It could fit all three who took silver in the 100m butterfly. There was no shortage of material for the Team South Africa kit, just a lack of measurements.
Le Clos played down any talk of their rivalry being bitter. It was just what it was. Respect and competition. He did what he had to do, and so did Phelps. The American had not forgotten the loss in the 200m butterfly in London in 2012. Phelps struggled to comprehend that he had lost then and as he swam past Le Clos, he turned and said something to him. A few years ago, in an interview as he was shooting an advertisement for SuperSport, Chad’s father, Bert, told me what passed between the two.
“I’ve got it on tape at home. People didn’t see it after the 200m. He never congratulated Chad in the pool,” said Le Clos snr. “When he swam past him, he said, F**k’s sake. F**k you.’ I met him afterwards and I said to him, By the way, I saw what you said. I wouldn’t expect you to say anything more because you’re a champion, you didn’t want to lose.’ He said, One hundred percent.’ He tweeted after we met that one of the highlights of 2012 was meeting Chad’s dad, because I treated him like a man. He might be a better swimmer than me and have more money than us, and be better looking than us, but he’s not better than us…wait, he’s not better looking than us.
Phelps is not better looking, but he came into these Games hard and full of fight. Le Clos came in full of confidence and hope, but with a heavy heart for his parents and, he said after the 100m butterfly, with something “physical” amiss. “I can’t tell you. It’s not mental, it’s physical. It’s a reason, but it’ll sound like an excuse and there are no excuses. It hurts. I will have more respect for the Olympics.”
Le Clos has not denied he has flaws as a swimmer. Looking around during a race is the most obvious one. He turned to look at Phelps four or five times in the final laps of the 200m butterfly. He could get away with it in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games where he was streets ahead of the competition even though he was not in top form nor properly shaved.
“It’s not showboating, not at all. I wouldn’t do that,” he told the Press Association last month. “(But) it’s become a trademark. If I’m swimming a race for myself I’m not going to look around. When I’m in a big race with a guy I know I have to beat, I’ll look out for him.
“I try to erase it and always tell myself this is the last time. I get into the final, look around to see where everyone is and I’ve done three or four, so I might as well finish it off. By no means am I encouraging the kids to do that. It’s a bit of a flaw in my game. I race the race, I don’t race the time. I just race the guy next to me and hopefully win. I know that it slows you down, for sure. But the biggest thing is I know where my competitors are. I lose time, but I gain motivation. At the Olympics, if I’m next to Phelps and Laszlo (Cseh, the Hungarian), I don’t think I’ll be looking around much. If I’m in lane seven or lane two, I can’t promise no looks.”
He was next to Phelps and he looked too much. He may never shake his bad habit, but now he has lost his rival, he has lost the swimmer he looks out for the most. “He’ll always be an inspiration to me, as much as whatever was said in the media,” said Le Clos. “I’ll always have respect for him. I’ll always watch his races for motivation. Maybe he’s not happy with that silver and wants to get another crack at Joseph. Hopefully that’s the case, because I want another crack at him.”
Perhaps Phelps will come back. Perhaps Le Clos will beat Phelps, and then swim past him and say: “F**k’s sake. F**k you.”
But Chad would love to have another crack at the American star.
The Star