Johannesburg – South African Chad le Clos finished second in the men’s 100m butterfly semi-finals at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia on Friday.
American Tom Shields touched the wall first in 51.103, with Le Clos just behind in 51.11 and Konrad Czerniak of Poland claimed third some way behind in 51.29.
Starting in lane six, le Clos left plenty work to do in the final few metres after he turned at 50 metres outside the top three but powered home to take second spot and book his place in the final on Saturday at 5.13pm SA time.
Le Clos significantly improved on his 51.83 he swam earlier in the day in the qualifying heat.
ANA