Johannesburg - Chad le Clos claimed the gold medal in the men’s 200m butterfly and bronze in the 50m butterfly on the first day of the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum series on Wednesday.
The Olympic gold medallist bounced back with a vengeance after he finished off the podium in his pet event in France over the weekend.
He posted the second fastest time this season clocking 1:54.90 in a new championship record.
Daiya Seto of Japan, who holds the world-leading time of 1:54.46, finished behind Le Clos in a time of 1:55.11 with Danish swimmer Viktor Bromer taking third in 1:55.46.
Le Clos bagged the bronze medal in the 50m butterfly touching in a time of 23.92 with Briton Ben Proud winning the sprint with a time of 23.70 while Konrad Czerniak of Poland claimed silver in 23.89.
Cameron van der Burgh also made a return to the podium with a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke after he fell just short in France.
The Olympic gold medallist continued his tussle with Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, the man who usurped him of his world records in the 50m and 100m breaststroke.
Peaty finished atop the podium with a time of 59.55 with Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki taking second place in a time of 59.81. Van der Burgh touched third in a time of 1:00.68.