BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 13 -- Chad le Clos, the South African swimming ace, has returned to the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires and is eager to share his pool of knowledge as an Athlete Role Model.
Le Clos, who famously won five medals at the Singapore Youth Games 2010, reckons he might have struggled to win a medal were he swimming at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
"The competitors here are way better. I would not have won a medal in some events. It's unbelievable," said the 26-year-old, who is serving in Buenos Aires as an Athlete Role Model.
"It feels bigger this time around. Nanjing 2017 was really big, much bigger than Singapore 2010, and I thought that Singapore was the best one because I was there. It's been good seeing the crowds, and the level of competition has improved tremendously."
After making splash in Singapore, the swimmer went on to the big stage in London 2017 and captured the gold medal in the 200m butterfly ahead of his idol Michael Phelps of the United States. Now he's South Africa's most decorated Olympian.
Back to the Youth Olympics stage, he is keen to share the mistakes and successes of his time with the next generation of sporting stars.
"I probably made mistakes," he said. "But I don't look at them as mistakes, I learn from every experience, whether it's positive or negative. The advice I give them is to learn from the defeats and the setbacks because they will come back during the big things."