Matthew Sates opens title defence in style at World Cup gala

Teenager Matthew Sates picked things up where he left off last season, spearheading the South African charge, while former champion Chad le Clos took the opportunity to show he is still a global force as they raked in eight medals between them at the opening leg of the Fina World Cup at the weekend.

Sates, who won the overall men’s title in last year’s short-course series, earned five medals at the three-day gala which came to a close in Berlin on Sunday night.

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The 19-year-old prospect stormed to gold in the 200m and 400m freestyle events, as well as the 200m and 400m individual medley finals, and he grabbed silver in the 100m individual medley.

In the process, he shattered the African record in the 400m IM, touching the wall in 3:36.30 to finish nearly a full second clear of American opponent Kieran Smith, who finished second in 3:37.27.

Sates completed the gala with more points than any other male swimmer, opening his campaign in style as he aims to retain his series crown.

Le Clos, the only man to have won the overall World Cup title four times, also produced some quick times to secure three medals of his own.

Focussing on butterfly races in Berlin, the 30-year-old star won gold in the 100m (48.58) and 200m (1:49.62) races and took silver in the 50m final (22.13).

With eight medals, including six gold, South Africa settled in second place in the medals table (behind the United States with 16 medals) with two legs remaining in the annual World Cup series.

The second leg of the lucrative campaign will be held in Toronto this weekend.