Swimming champion Chad le Clos says just being at the Tokyo Games is a huge blessing because, even as recently as two weeks ago, he wasn’t sure it was even going to happen.
“Being in Tokyo feels just like winning an Olympic medal, considering what it’s taken to get here and what we have all been through,” Chad le Clos says via a mobile phone from somewhere in the Olympic village.
“Just to be here, to be able to carry the South African flag into the stadium and be some sort of a ‘captain’ of the team, it’s a huge honour and responsibility. I’ve always carried those feelings with me, and tried to take on that responsibility anyway. But being given the moment [formally] is something very special.”Le Clos has a very close relationship with his parents . Both have been through health issues over the past few years.
Being at the Olympics means everything to Le Clos. He’s had success and may succeed again, but somehow Tokyo is more meaningful because of what it took to get there, for him, all the athletes and the organisers. “I feel like I already have a gold medal just by being here. People that know me well, know that I am a proud person and I come from a proud family. The Olympics is not about the glitz and the glamour, the fame and the money; it’s about the honour of being the best of the best and competing with the best.
“Regardless of results, I hope people get behind us in Team SA, but also behind other athletes. As a South African, I know what things like winning the Rugby World Cup can do for the mood of the country and those special moments live with people forever. Most of us know where we were when the Boks won RWC [Rugby World Cup] 2019 – I was in Turkey crying my eyes out.