“My first memories of Michael Phelps were at the Athens Olympics [in 2004] when I was 12 years old,” Chad le Clos told Gulf News. “I remember my dad watching the TV and saying: ‘Hey, come and watch this’. He won six golds there.” “I wanted to be like him, with his focus and dedication.” The South African, Gulf News says, “devoured every moment of the greatest Olympian in history’s strokes of genius on video and plastered his bedroom walls with posters of Phelps.”
“Eight years later, Le Clos experienced the surreal and unforgettable experience of beating the object of his veneration to the 200-metre butterfly crown at the London 2012 Olympics,” Gulf News wrote. A Daily Maverick photo caption dates it: “the men’s 200m butterfly final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre July 31, 2012.” It was Phelps’s race. “Phelps, 27, had been trying to become the first man to win an Olympic swimming event three times in a row, having previously won gold in Beijing and Athens,” The World reported; le Clos was 20.
“Phelps led throughout the race,” BBC Sport said, “but tried to glide to the wall after his final stroke and was out-touched by Le Clos.” “The American led going into the last few meters of his favorite race,” Reuters wrote. “Le Clos won in one minute 52.96 seconds, 0.05secs ahead of Phelps,” the BBC said, and The World gave Phelps’s time as 1:53.01. “Phelps is my hero, and I love the guy,” le Clos said. “To beat him – I can’t believe it. You don’t understand what this means to me. This is the greatest moment of my life.” Phelps’s silver still made history: he “drew level with Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s haul of 18,” Reuters said, and “he later took the record on his own with gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay,” the BBC said.
“Bert said in an interview with the BBC soon after the race,” the Associated Press wrote of Chad’s father: “Look at him! And he’s beautiful! Look at this. What a beautiful boy!” SwimSwam says he began “the interview by saying, ‘Unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable! I have never been so happy in my life.’” “‘Unbelievable,’ Bert bellowed, his enthusiasm bubbling out of the screen,” Gulf News wrote. “The father then asked if the interview was going out live. When told that it was, Bert apologized for being so excited,” the AP said.
Bert “himself became a global celebrity for his exuberant celebrations and animated interviews in London,” the AP said. “Bert’s heartfelt words and interview became an instant hit,” SwimSwam wrote, and Gulf News wrote that “The sheer unaffected warmth of his fatherly celebration became an immediate symbol of the London Games.” Later, SwimSwam reported, “‘Unbelievable!’ is the title of a new book”: “‘Unbelievable!’ was written by Chad le Clos with Myan Subrayan.” Swimming World called it “a new autobiography.”
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- He had Michael Phelps posters on his bedroom wall, until he raced him for gold. Gulf News: “He devoured every moment of the greatest Olympian in history’s strokes of genius on video and plastered his bedroom walls with posters of Phelps.” BBC Sport: “a dramatic victory in the 200m butterfly in London.” 61
- His name is Chad le Clos. BBC Sport: “South Africa’s Chad le Clos.” 1
- When he was 12, his dad called him to watch Phelps on TV. Le Clos, to Gulf News: “My first memories of Michael Phelps were at the Athens Olympics [in 2004] when I was 12 years old” … “I remember my dad watching the TV and saying: ‘Hey, come and watch this’. He won six golds there.” 6
- “I wanted to be like him,” Chad said. Le Clos, to Gulf News: “I wanted to be like him, with his focus and dedication.” 6
- Then, eight years later, he made the Olympic final of Phelps’s favorite race. Gulf News: “Eight years later, Le Clos experienced the surreal and unforgettable experience of beating the object of his veneration to the 200-metre butterfly crown at the London 2012 Olympics.” Reuters: “The American led going into the last few meters of his favorite race.” 65
- It was the 200-meter butterfly, in London. BBC Sport (July 31, 2012): “the 200m butterfly in London.” Daily Maverick, in a photo caption: “the men’s 200m butterfly final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre July 31, 2012.” 14
- Phelps had won it at the last two Olympics. The World: “Phelps, 27, had been trying to become the first man to win an Olympic swimming event three times in a row, having previously won gold in Beijing and Athens.” BBC Sport: “ended the reign of two-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps.” 21
- Chad was 20. The World: “But Le Clos, 20, edged out Phelps on the final stroke.” Associated Press: “Le Clos, just 20 at the time, beat his childhood hero Phelps.” 27
- Phelps led the whole way. BBC Sport: “Phelps led throughout the race.” The World: “today he led throughout the race.” 12
- But at the wall, Phelps glided in. BBC Sport: “but tried to glide to the wall after his final stroke and was out-touched by Le Clos.” 1
- Chad touched first, by five hundredths of a second. BBC Sport: “Le Clos won in one minute 52.96 seconds, 0.05secs ahead of Phelps.” The World: “winning in one minute 1:52.96 seconds, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Phelps, who came in at 1:53.01.” 12
- “Phelps is my hero,” he said. “This is the greatest moment of my life.” Christian Science Monitor: “Phelps is my hero, and I love the guy,” he said. “To beat him – I can’t believe it. You don’t understand what this means to me. This is the greatest moment of my life.” The same words are in Daily Maverick. 34
- Soon after, the BBC put his dad, Bert, on live TV. Associated Press: “Bert said in an interview with the BBC soon after the race” … “The father then asked if the interview was going out live. When told that it was, Bert apologized for being so excited.” 7
- “Unbelievable!” he shouted. Gulf News: “‘Unbelievable,’ Bert bellowed, his enthusiasm bubbling out of the screen.” SwimSwam: “starting the interview by saying, ‘Unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable! I have never been so happy in my life.’” 89
- “What a beautiful boy!” Associated Press: “Look at him! And he’s beautiful! Look at this. What a beautiful boy!” 7
- He asked if this was going out live. Associated Press: “The father then asked if the interview was going out live.” 7
- The clip went around the world. Associated Press: “his father Bert, who himself became a global celebrity for his exuberant celebrations and animated interviews in London.” SwimSwam: “Bert’s heartfelt words and interview became an instant hit.” Gulf News: “The sheer unaffected warmth of his fatherly celebration became an immediate symbol of the London Games.” 798
- Chad later called his own book Unbelievable. SwimSwam: “And now ‘Unbelievable!’ is the title of a new book” … “‘Unbelievable!’ was written by Chad le Clos with Myan Subrayan.” Swimming World: “The South African sensation has penned a new autobiography, called ‘Unbelievable.’” 910
Sources
- Chad le Clos beats Michael Phelps for 200m butterfly gold (July 31, 2012; archived) BBC Sport
- South African swimmer Chad Le Clos beats Michael Phelps in 200-meter butterfly (July 31, 2012) The World (PRI)
- Michael Phelps wins record 19th medal, but did you see Chad le Clos? (July 31, 2012) Christian Science Monitor
- Le Clos and a cigar: Chad bags SA’s second gold (August 1, 2012) Daily Maverick
- Golden years: Le Clos leads upset but Phelps wins record 19th with team (Reuters, July 31, 2012) Chicago Tribune
- Chad Le Clos relishing another duel in the pool with his inspiration (2015 interview) Gulf News
- Associated Press report on Chad and Bert le Clos (July 11, 2016) Sports Illustrated
- ‘Super dad’ who stole London Games is back (a Telegraph report, August 2016) Gulf News
- le Clos’ ‘Unbelievable!’ To Be In Readers Hands By April SwimSwam
- Chad Le Clos Details ‘Unbelievable’ Journey to Olympic Gold in New Book (May 2014) Swimming World
Notes
Some popular videos call him the only man ever to beat Phelps, and that is wrong: Phelps had already finished fourth in the 400-meter individual medley earlier in the same Games (“Phelps fourth on Saturday,” the Christian Science Monitor says). Neither the Short nor this page says it.
The book’s title: SwimSwam puts Bert’s “Unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable!” beside the book’s title, and one report says the title came from Bert’s reaction, but we could not open that page, so neither the Short nor this page says he named the book after his father.
Bert’s words differ slightly between reports: “Look at him, that boy is beautiful” in the Telegraph report printed by Gulf News; “Look at him! And he’s beautiful! Look at this. What a beautiful boy!” in the Associated Press. The Short quotes only “What a beautiful boy!” and “Unbelievable!”
“Eight years later” runs from his first memory of Phelps, at the 2004 Athens Olympics when he was 12, to London 2012, when he was 20 (Gulf News). The posters are Gulf News’s description, not his own words.
How long Phelps had gone unbeaten in the event: not “at a major international competition since 2000,” says the Christian Science Monitor; “in a decade,” says Gulf News. The Short gives no figure.
Chad le Clos, Bert le Clos and Michael Phelps are alive. Bert’s lines are his own celebrated public words; nothing about the family’s health or private life is used, and for Phelps only race facts are used. László Cseh, Ryan Lochte, Joseph Schooling and Jen Su appear in photos only.
Pictures: no free photo shows the 200-meter butterfly final, the touch or Bert’s BBC interview, and there is no free photo of Bert. The London 2012 photos were taken from the stands of the Aquatics Centre on August 1 and 2, 2012, the days after the final: le Clos (green cap) at the blocks before his 200-meter individual medley heat and the pool during the Games (Gary Bembridge); Phelps on the pool deck (nrcphotos), at his block, swimming butterfly, and with László Cseh (left) and Ryan Lochte (right) and their 200-meter individual medley medals (Rory); and a 100-meter butterfly heat from above (Madchester). Phelps’s 2008 photo is from the 400-meter individual medley at the Missouri Grand Prix on February 16, 2008, not the 2004 broadcast. Le Clos is shown with the presenter Jen Su on August 14, 2012; at the FINA World Cup in Doha on October 20 and 21, 2013 (the gold medal there is a World Cup medal, not his Olympic gold); at the World Championships in Kazan in August 2015, in the pool after his 200-meter freestyle semifinal on August 3, signing after his 100-meter butterfly win and on top of the podium with Cseh and Schooling on August 8; and walking out under South African flags on the big screens before the 200-meter butterfly semifinal at the World Championships in Budapest on July 25, 2017.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Satie, Gymnopedie No. 1 (Lent et douloureux) (Robin Alciatore, piano, public domain); Beethoven, Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, CC0); Brahms, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73: IV. Allegro con spirito (Musopen Symphony Orchestra, CC0).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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