By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa’s Chad le Clos failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the men’s 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday morning.
Le Clos ended second in his heat in 52.24sec, which was good enough for 24th overall, missing the top 16 by 0.6.
The 32-year-old carried an injury coming into the gala , but based on his history, there has always been an expectation.
“It was tough. The last 25 was really hard,” he said afterwards.
“On my best day, in my best time, that would have been hard [to make the final], right? I would have probably made the final, sure, but it would be a hell of a swim for me to get on that podium,” said Le Clos.
“I want to be competitive,” he said.
“Make no mistake, I didn’t come here for the T-shirts, please. This was not good. I was half expecting this because of outside circumstances.”
“But, hey, if everything was sweet, I’d be in tears now for not making it back to the semifinals. I’m OK now. It is what it is.”
Le Clos famously edged American superstar Michael Phelps to win his only gold in the 200m butterfly at the London Games in 2012. He went on to pick up three Olympic silver medals over his storied career.
Meanwhile, Matthew Sates finished seventh in the same heat as Le Clos in a disappointing 54:53 and also failed to qualify for the semi-finals.