Chad le Clos Wins Double Gold at South African Championships

Chad le Clos secured a double gold on the opening night of the South African Short Course Championships, winning the 100m freestyle in 47.55 seconds and the 50m butterfly in 22.79 seconds.

The event took place in Pietermaritzburg, with **Jessica Thompson** also claiming two titles, in the 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly, with times of 54.29 seconds and 25.66 seconds respectively.

Chad le Clos finished a body-length ahead of the field in the 100m freestyle.

He then completed an impressive victory in the 50m butterfly, with **Tai Pearson** and **Eric Kotze** taking second and third place.

Le Clos has returned to competition after an extended break, and is happy with his performance, having only been seriously training for six weeks.

He said he was in a good space and it was nice to see the youngsters swim well.

**Lara van Niekerk** also performed well, claiming the 100m breaststroke title in 1:05.98.

The men's 100m breaststroke title was secured by **Chris Smith**, who reached the wall in a time of 58.24.

There were first-time national titles for **Grace Morris** and **Adrian van Wyk** in the 200m backstroke.

**Caitlin de Lange** raced to victory in the 100m individual medley in a personal best time of 1:00.69.

The championships continue, with more events and titles to be won.

Chad le Clos's performance is a promising start to his return to competition.

He will look to build on this success in upcoming events.

The South African Short Course Championships will conclude with more exciting races.