Veteran Chad le Clos heads into the world short-course championships in Melbourne this week looking to add to the 18 medals he’s won at the six previous editions of this event.
He claimed his first gong in 2010, when he was just 18, younger than the new crop of star youngsters, with the exception of schoolboy Pieter Coetzé, the backstroker who is about a month younger than Le Clos was.
Le Clos and Matthew Sates, 19, are both excellent proponents of short-course competition, where their slick turns and underwater attacks off the wall make them particularly dangerous in the 25m pool, which offers more turns than a traditional Olympic-sized 50m lap.
Le Clos also seems reinvigorated since joining up with German coach Dirk Lange, a disciplinarian who steered Cameron van der Burgh to Olympic gold at London 2012.
Coetzé, winner of three Commonwealth Games medals, was less efficient off the wall at the national short-course championships, where he was beaten by Sates in the 100m individual medley.
And breaststroker Lara van Niekerk, who underwent surgery in August and then wrote matric last month, is also not best suited to the shorter lengths, which produce quicker times.
“She’s more a long-course swimmer, she does create momentum with her stroke as she goes through the length,” said coach Eugene da Ponte. “But, ja, I’m excited and interested to see what she is capable of. It’s a bit of an unknown at this point in time.”
Van Niekerk, who also won a 50m breaststroke bronze at the world long-course championships in Budapest in June, said she wasn’t putting pressure on herself to make the podium in Australia.
“I just want to enjoy it. It’s my first world short-course champs, so I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking I need to win a medal. Just to see what I can do after I’ve had surgery recently ... I have achieved the goals I wanted to this year.”
Apart from compatriot Tatjana Schoenmaker, who has opted to skip the short-course season, the world’s top breaststrokers are scheduled to be in action. They include 50m favourite Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania, American Lilly King, Benedetta Pilato of Italy, Swede Sophie Hansson and defending champion Tang Qianting of China.
Meilutyte won the 50m long-course world title in Hungary and Pilato took the 100m crown.
“Lara would probably have to swim the same times she swam at Commonwealth, converted to short course, just to be in contention for the medals,” said Da Ponte. “If we can do that and be competitive, I’ll be happy.”
Van Niekerk clocked a 29.73 Games record in the 50m in Birmingham and a 1:05.47 personal best in the 100m.
Convert those to 28.73 and 1:03.47 and Van Niekerk would rank third in the world in the 50m and fourth in the 100m. Her short-course rankings are sixth and 10th.
Da Ponte said short-course competition was a valuable tool for coaches. “It shows you straight away where a swimmer has got deficiencies.”
Next year Van Niekerk’s focus will be the long-course world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July and in 2024 it will be the Paris Olympics.
After the Melbourne gala Van Niekerk will join her family on holiday at the coast.
“It’s the last holiday she gets before the Olympics, so she must take it while she can,” said Da Ponte. “She’ll get a couple of days here and there, but not 10 days [as usual].
“Next year I can’t afford to give her 10 days off.”
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