Born Racer : The Chad Le Clos Story
Thought provoking documentary “Born Racer” is the untold story of Olympian swimmer Chad Le Clos about family, love, winning, losing and redemption.
Born Racer, a gripping and emotional documentary, is set to premiere on the 30th of June 2023 on Supersport. The film is an honest chronicle of the life of Chad Le Clos as a professional swimmer who has overcome tremendous obstacles in his pursuit of excellence in the swimming world. As a heart-warming protagonist, Le Clos’ deep familial ties and his widely recognised down-to-earth personality are sentient elements that power the story to extraordinary depths.
Collective memory will have the world reminiscing on the 31st of July 2012 when 19-year-old Chad le Clos stunned the swimming world by beating the greatest swimmer of all time at the London Olympics. The young upstart toppled American Michael Phelps at a race he had not lost in over a decade: The 200m Fly. With a gold medal around his neck, Chad became a household name in South Africa and in the global swimming community, for a moment in time he had everything he thought he needed.
The arc of the film hones in on how the high of being an award-winning global star was succeeded by a downward trend of Olympic disappointment, including losing out on gold in Rio and Tokyo Olympics. In its deeply personal treatment, Born Racer sees Le Clos in contemplation of the meaning and the pursuit of happiness. The documentary explores the conflict that arises from an athlete’s deep connection to the prized Olympic gold, chasing the feeling of fan adoration he so desperately craved as well as the coming down when accolades cease. How does a top athlete deal with a new era when their performance does not match their expectations?
Born Racer offers an intimate and unflinching look into the life of Chad, who has dedicated his entire life to swimming. Through deeply personal and intimate conversations with Chad, his family and his inner team, Born Racer spends four years documenting the reality of life for an Olympic Champion – from the United Kingdom to Turkey, Australia to Germany the Middle East to Japan, through a global pandemic, multiple world sporting events and over 60 hours of family VHS footage. This is an honest story that goes to the depths of Chad’s past, his family’s humble roots and ultimately shows us what it takes to find success as a South African in the modern sports world where the resource divide grows wider and wider every year.
A joint venture between Le Clos and Cape Town studio Fell & Company, Born Racer goes beyond the physical aspects of Chad’s journey. The film punctuates the emotional toll that comes with being a professional athlete, including the sacrifices he has made in his personal life, the pressures of competition in a highly adrenalized sport. Born Racer is an inspirational piece that observes a man’s rise from rock bottom to picking himself up in order to continue striving for success albeit meaningfully.
“This was not the film that I expected back in 2018 when we started!” says Le Clos. “Whilst the film shows the sacrifices and struggles that many professional athletes like me go through, it chronicles some of the most difficult times in my career, when I was lost, depressed but still giving it my all. I hope it shows what resilience and redemption looks like, particularly with the incredible support of my family. I hope it can inspire the next generation of South African swimmers to train hard, set their own goals and beat my
records! I also think that Born Racer celebrates our resilience as a nation,” he adds.
Born Racer is expected to captivate audiences with its powerful narrative, stunning visuals, and emotional depth. It will be shown on Supersport in June.