Veteran South African swimmer Chad le Clos won his 21st Commonwealth Games medal, taking sole possession of the top spot as the most decorated athlete in the history of the Games, surpassing Australia's Emma McKeon.
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The 34-year-old swimmer helped South Africa secure the bronze medal in the men's 4x100m medley relay after swimming the butterfly leg, adding a third medal to his tally at the 2026 Games following his silver in the mixed 4x100m medley relay and bronze in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay.
His record-breaking haul stands at 21 medals—comprising seven golds, five silvers, and nine bronzes—accumulated across five consecutive Commonwealth Games appearances. His journey began at the Delhi 2010 Games, where he won five medals at the age of 18, before adding seven more in Glasgow in 2014.
Le Clos continued his impressive streak by winning five medals at Gold Coast 2018, followed by another medal at Birmingham 2022.
"It was emotional, but I think the first two medals here were more important for me because I had a mountain to climb. Tonight, I just had to keep my cool and get the job done," he said after the relay.
He added: "The way the boys and girls swam was fantastic; they gave it everything. They kept saying, 'We're doing this for Chad,' before getting into the pool, and that means the world to me."
Le Clos is also one of Olympic swimming's most prominent champions, having stunned the world at the London 2012 Olympics by edging legendary American Michael Phelps by just 0.05 seconds to claim gold in the 200m butterfly.
At the time, Phelps held 14 Olympic gold medals and had been undefeated in that event since 2001.
Le Clos went on to win further Olympic medals at the Rio 2016 Games and subsequently competed in both Tokyo and Paris.
He had previously reaffirmed his ambition to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, which would mark his fifth Olympic appearance.
