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“One of the Hardest Things I’ve Done”: Chad De Clos’ Successor Bows Down to Swimming Community for Last Minute Support for Double Gold at Swimming World Cup 2023

Published 10/14/2023, 1:49 PM EDT

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Chad le Clos is South Africa’s most decorated swimming prodigy. However, the talented swimmer has not been performing to his top potential at the ongoing Swimming World Cup 2023. Nevertheless, South African swimming prodigy Matthew Sates has taken over the burden of performing from le Clos and the young swimmer has been putting in some amazing performances lately.

In fact, at the end of day two of the Athens leg of the ongoing World Cup, Sates is currently leading the men’s individual ranking with a total of 110.5 points while also securing US$5,500 as prize money so far. On top of that, the South African has also highlighted his appreciation for the swimming community after his latest win at Athens.

Matthew Sates thanks fans at the Swimming World Cup 2023

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Matthew Sates has been in inspired form at this year’s Swimming World Cup. In his latest race, the South African prodigy squared up against Richard Maron and Takumi Terada in the men’s 200m butterfly event. However, both swimmers were no match for Sates, who secured a first-place finish in a time of 1:55.44 while Marton and Terada were placed second and third, respectively.

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After the race, according to the World Aquatics YouTube stream, Sates stated, “Definitely one of the hardest things I’ve done. Super thankful. Such a good crowd here. So thanks guys for the support,” as he showcased his appreciation for the crowd. However, he did not stop there and secured another World Cup gold medal in Athens with his impeccable performance in the men’s 200m individual medley.

Matthew Sates earns second win in Athens

South Africa is currently leading the medals table with 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal, and the country’s swimming prodigy Matthew Sates is playing a huge role in this. After his win in the men’s 200m butterfly event, Sates recorded another win in the 200m medley as he clocked a time of 1:58.86. Sates ended up beating the likes of USA’s Kieran Smith, who finished second with 1:59.56 while Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys finished third with a time of 2:00.15.

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As for Sates, the South African has one more day of racing left in Athens before the competition moves to its last and final stage of Budapest. However, fans of Sates would be hoping for another impressive performance in Budapest, as the young swimmer has been a past series winner in Hungary back in 2021.

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Written by:

Vaibhav Singh Bisht

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Vaibhav Singh Bisht is an Olympics sports writer for EssentiallySports. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication with a specialization in Advertising and Corporate Communication. Vaibhav has experience working in the Public Relations industry previously.
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Edited by:

Purva Jain