Entry lists are out for the 2015 FINA World Championships, and South African star Chad Le Clos has pared down his schedule by one individual event.
Last month, Le Clos’s coach Graham Hill indicated that Le Clos would be swimming the 50, 100, and 200 butterfly events, along with the 200 free and 200 IM. Swimming five events would have given Le Clos his heaviest individual schedule at any major international long course meet in which he’s competed.
However, the entry list for the 200 IM does not show le Clos, meaning that he’s back down to four individual events for this meet. Le Clos is the defending FINA World Championships and Commonwealth Games champion in both the 100 and 200 butterfly events, as well as the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 200 fly. He has the fastest seed time in the 100 fly, and the fourth-fastest in the 200 fly, and is the favorite in both of those events due to international record.
South Africa is only entered in one relay for the men: the 400 medley. Swimming South Africa has had a number of controversies over the past few years, and is only bringing five men to Kazan: Le Clos, freestyler Myles Brown, breaststrokers Cameron van der Burgh and Ayrton Sweeney, and butterflier/IMer Sebastien Rousseau, making it unlikely that any combination of those five men would make it finals in either freestyle relay, let alone medal. If South Africa sticks with that they did last year at Glasgow, le Clos will swim the butterfly leg on the medley relay, while Rousseau will handle backstroke duties.
Despite dropping the 200 IM, le Clos will still have to pull two doubles. Assuming he advances through in each event, he’ll have the final of the 50m fly and the semi-finals of the 200m free on Monday, then the final of the 200m free and the semi-final of the 200m fly on Tuesday.
I suspect that if Le Clos trained in America, he would be swimming the 400 IM. Ironically, that event is arguably easier on the schedule than the 200 IM, since you only have to swim it twice.
The men’s 100 fly is possibly the most wildly open and competitive event in Kazan. At least half a dozen guys have a legit shot at it.
Even with this thinned out World Championships field on the men’s side, it should be a humbling experience for Prince Chad.
No, he is referring to King Chad, unbeaten since 2012……..when he was still a young Prince. It’s a real pity that Hagino is out of action. We could have seen The Emperor v The King in the 200 free, scrapping it out for the bronze!
I don’t know about that. I think Hagino would have made it to finals, but I guess there’s a chance he could have raced the Prince in prelims or semis. That 1:47 lifetime best would have been mighty intimidating to The Emperor though 🙂
Yes, that’s who I’m talking about.