By Gary Lemke.
Photo Credit: Anton Geyser.
If ever there was a storybook ending, this is it. Chad le Clos waited until the final race of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to officially go where no one has been before. It all started on 4th October 2010 with 200m butterfly gold in Delhi. Nearly 16 full years later, five Games in total, history was written in Glasgow.
The 21st medal for South Africa’s iconic 34-year-old swimmer came in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, which brought the curtain down on the Games programme inside Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre. In total Team SA leave with 22 medals from the pool, comprising 6 gold, 7 silver and 9 bronze,
Those 21 medals are more than any Commonwealth Games athletes, across all sports codes, has ever won.
Le Clos earned three, all in the relays, which first took his pre-Games tally past shooters Phil Adams and Mick Gault, then to join Australian swimmer Emma McKeon, and then to go into a world on his own with 21.
The coaching think tank had pulled something of a “Rassie Bomb Squad” move between morning and evening ahead of the 4x100m medley final. There were three changes in personnel and one switch in stroke. Ruard van Renen, who had led off in the morning, was switched to freestyle where he replaced Guy Brooks, while Michael Houlie came in for Chris Smith and Le Clos replaced Jarden Eaton.
“Tonight was emotional” he said after Wednesday’s medal ceremony. “But I think those first two (medals) were just a little bit more just because I had to get over the hump and tonight I just had to stay cool and hopefully bring it home.”
However he said that Tuesday night’s relay final – which he didn’t compete in – was probably the most emotional of the games. “The way the boys and girls swam, they swam their hearts out. They keep saying ‘legacy’, we are doing this for Chad before they walked down. It just means the world to me.”
His family were also there in Glasgow to support him. “I can’t describe the support over the years. This week has been special because my brother’s daughter was born on 1 October 2010 and she was here to watch me 16 years later. They’ve been there every step of the way, my parents, both my brothers and sister.”
“Looking back on the whole Commonwealth Games journey, from India through to now, I never thought I’d be standing here,” Le Clos said. “To stand alone in history is unbelievable. Four years ago, I needed one more medal, then Emma (McKeon) came past me, and suddenly I needed three more. We just took it one day at a time.”
He now has 7 golds, 5 silver, 9 bronze medals. A breakdown of his historic 21 Commonwealth Games medals is:
2010 Delhi (5)
2 Gold (200m butterfly, 400m IM)
1 Silver (men’s 4x100m medley)
2 Bronze (men’s 4x100m, 4x200m freestyle)
2014 Glasgow (7)
2 Gold (100m, 200m butterfly)
1 Silver (men’s 4x100m freestyle)
4 Bronze (50m butterfly, 200m IM, men’s 4x200m freestyle, men’s 4x100m medley)
2018 Gold Coast (5)
3 Gold (50m, 100m, 200m butterfly)
1 Silver (100m freestyle)
1 Bronze (men’s 4x100m medley)
2022 Birmingham (1)
1 Silver (200m butterfly)
2026 Glasgow (3)
1 Silver (men’s 4x100m freestyle, mixed 4x100m medley)
2 Bronze (men’s 4x100m freestyle, men’s 4x100m medley).