Lewis Clareburt (born 4 July 1999) is a New Zealand competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who has represented New Zealand at two Olympics. He is the current 400 metre individual medley World Champion and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Champion in 200 metre butterfly and 400 metre individual medley. Clareburt is one of New Zealand most decorated swimmers claiming multiple World Championship medals, Commonwealth Games medals and National, Commonwealth and Oceania records.

Swimming Career

2016 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

Clareburt was selected for the 2016 Junior Pan Pacific Championships held in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, United States. In the 400 metre individual medley, Clareburt finished 11th overall after swimming a 4:25.54 in the B Final and 12th overall after swimming 3:58.66 in the B Final of the 400 metre freestyle.

2017 Commonwealth Youth Games

Clareburt claimed a number of medals at the

2017 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the VI Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Bahamas 2017, or Nassau 2017, was the sixth edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games which started in 2000. The games were held from 19 to ...

held in Nassau, The Bahamas including individual titles in the 200 metre freestyle in a time of 1:49.89 and the 400 metre individual medley in a time of 4:18.78. Clareburt was also part of the 4x200 metre mixed freestyle relay team alongside Chelsey Edwards, Zac Reid and Laticia-Leigh Transom that won gold ahead of England and Australia. He also claimed silver medals in the 400 metre freestyle in a time of 3:54.15, 200 metre butterfly in a time of 2:00.24, 200 metre individual medley in a time of 2:03.06 and the 4x100 metre mixed medley relay alongside Finn Kennard Campbell, Ciara Smith and Transom.

2018 Commonwealth Games

The following year as an 18-year-old, Clareburt was a late addition to the New Zealand team heading to the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

held in Gold Coast, Australia after narrowly missing the selection time. After securing a spot in the final alongside compatriot Bradlee Ashby, Clareburt claimed a surprise bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley in a new national record of 4:14.42 with an impressive four second personal best. Clareburt also made the final of the 200 metre individual medley where he finished 7th in a time of 2:01.13, although this time behind Ashby, as well as finishing 7th in the final of the 200 metre butterfly in a time of 1:58.51. He also finished 10th in the 200 metre backstroke in a time of 2:01.54.

2018 Pan Pacific Championships

Clareburt was selected for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships held in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan alongside Capital Swim Club teammate Emma Robinson and coach Gary Hollywood. Clareburt lowered his national record with a 4:14.27 in the A Final of the 400 metre individual medley as he finished 5th. He also finished 8th in the A Final of the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 1:59.31, 8th in the A Final of the 200 metre butterfly in a time of 1:57.37, and 15th overall after swimming a 2:01.10 in the B Final of the 200 metre backstroke.

2019 World Championships

Building on a successful year in 2018, Clareburt competed at the 2019 World Championships held in

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, South Korea. In the final of the 400 individual medley, Clareburt claimed the bronze medal in a new national record of 4:12.07 finishing behind

Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He holds the world record in the short course 400-metre individual medley and formerly held the world record in the short ...

of Japan and

Jay Litherland Jay Litherland (born August 24, 1995) is an American competition swimmer. He represents DC Trident which is part of the International Swimming League. He won the silver medal in the Men's 400 Individual Medley at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a tim ...

of the United States. The result made Clareburt just the fifth New Zealander to win a medal at the event and the first since

Danyon Loader Danyon Joseph Loader (born 21 April 1975) is an Olympic champion, former world record holder swimmer from New Zealand, based in Dunedin. He remains the national record holder in the 400 metre freestyle short course. He swam for New Zealand a ...

in 1994. Clareburt was also part of the 4x200 metre freestyle relay that finished 14th in a new national record of 7:13.06 alongside

Matthew Stanley Matthew Stanley (born 15 January 1992) is a New Zealand swimmer. His home town is Matamata, where he started swimming at the local swimming club at the age of seven. Career In 2011, he competed in the Universiade, winning a bronze medal in t ...

, Daniel Hunter and Zac Reid.

2020 International Swimming League

Clareburt joined the New York Breakers for the 2020 International Swimming League season.

2020 Summer Olympics

Following his performances at World Championships, Clareburt was selected to the national team to compete at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

held in

, Japan. Clareburt put together a fantastic heat swim in the 400 metre individual medley to qualifying second behind Australian

Brendon Smith Brendon Smith (born 4 July 2000) is an Australian swimmer. He won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics and has competed in the Summer Universiade and the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials. Smith and Rob ...

in a time of 4:09.49 in a new national record. However, he could not replicate the swim in the final with a time of 4:11.22 finishing 7th as

Chase Kalisz ] Chase Tyler Kalisz ( ; born March 7, 1994) is an American Swimming (sport), swimmer who specializes in individual medley events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, an Olymp ...

of the United States claimed the gold in a time of 4:09.42. Clareburt also made the final of the Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre individual medley, 200 metre individual medley where he finished 8th in a time of 1:57.70, he set another national record in the heats in a time of 1:57.27. Clareburt gained a social media following at the games with a number of

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

videos including completing a

manu Manu may refer to: Religion Proto Indo European Mythology * Manu (Indo European Mythology) one of the mythical duo Manu and Yemo Ancient Mesopotamia * Manu the Great, a Chaldean god of fate Hinduism *Manu (Hinduism), Hindu progenitor of mank ...

in the competition pool.

2022 World Championships

Clareburt competed at the 2022 World Championships held in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary finishing 5th in the final of the 400 metre individual medley in a time of 4:10.98 and 7th in the final of the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 1:58.11 He was also part of the 4x100 metre mixed freestyle relay team that just missed the final alongside

Carter Swift Carter Swift (born ) is a New Zealand swimmer who specialises in Freestyle. Swimming career Swift began swimming at a young age under Wilhemnia O'Callaghan and his mother Michelle Swift, who was the head coach of Shepparton Swimming Club. S ...

, Chelsey Edwards and Laura Littlejohn but set a new national record of 3:27.91. Clareburt's preparation for the World Championships were impacted by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

a month before racing started.

2022 Commonwealth Games

Clareburt entered the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham with high expectations based on his bronze medal in 2018 and was ranked second in both the 200 and 400 metres individual medleys. In the 400 metre individual medley, Clareburt qualified first in the heats before winning the gold in the final in a time of 4:08.15 ahead of Tokyo bronze medalist Brendon Smith who finished second. The time was a national record, Oceania record and a Games record while the gold medal was the first from a New Zealand swimmer at the Commonweallth Games in sixteen years. Clareburt backed this up with a second gold medal when he bet 2012 Olympic Champion and multiple time World Champion

Chad le Clos Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS (born 12 April 1992) is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short ...

in the final 200 metre butterfly in a time of 1:55.60. Clareburt wrapped up his campaign with a bronze medal in the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 1:57.59 finishing behind Duncan Scott and Tom Dean.

2023 World Championships

Clareburt competed in the 2023 World Championships held in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, Japan. In the final of the 400 metre individual medley, Clareburt finished 6th in a time of 4:11.29 as

Léon Marchand Léon Marchand (; born 17 May 2002) is a French swimming (sport), swimmer. He is the List of world records in swimming, World record holder in the long course 400 metres individual medley and Short course (swimming), short course 200 metres indiv ...

of France broke the world record. He finished 12th in the semi-finals of the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:58.01 and 13th in the semi-finals of the 200 metre butterfly in a time of 1:56.44. He also individually competed in the 100 metre butterfly finishing 33rd in a time of 52.89. The 4x100 metre medley relay that he took part in was disqualified.

2024 World Championships

With the swimming calendar condensed due to impact of

, World Championships were held in consecutive years and in same year as the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

with Clareburt opting to use the Championships to gain momentum ahead of the Olympics. Clareburt also switched programmes shifting to Auckland in the build up to the Championships splitting with longtime coach and mentor Gary Hollywood. In the final of the 400 metre individual medley, Clareburt claimed the gold medal ahead of British swimmer

Max Litchfield Max Robert Litchfield (born 4 March 1995) is a British competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain at three Olympics, and the LEN European Aquatics Championships. He also swam for England in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He competes interna ...

and

of Japan in a time of 4:09.72. The result mirrored compatriot

Erika Fairweather Erika Fairweather (born 31 December 2003) is a New Zealand swimmer who competed at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships and the 2020 Summer Olympics. Fairweather was born in Dunedin, She is of mixed European and Māori descent, affiliating with ...

who had earlier won gold in the 400 metre freestyle becoming the first New Zealander in history to win a gold medal at the event. Clareburt also finished 7th in the final of the 200 metre butterfly in a time of 1:55.86, and 7th in the final of the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 1:58.66.

2024 Summer Olympics

Clareburt earlier qualified for his second Olympic games at the 2024 New Zealand Championships and was named as part of the team to attend the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. In the heats of his favoured 400 individual medley, Clareburt finished tied 6th in the heats alongside

Alberto Razzetti Alberto Razzetti (born 2 June 1999) is an Italian swimmer. He won the gold medal in the men's 200 metre butterfly event at both the 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and the 2021 European Short ...

of Italy and Cedric Büssing of Germany in a time of 4:11.52 with all three progressing to the final. In the final, Clareburt finished 6th in a time of 4:10.44 behind 5th placed Razzetti and winner

of France. Clareburt progressed to the semi-finals of the 200 metre individual medley where he finished 14th in a time of 2:00.06, while finished 21st in the heats of the 200 metre butterfly in a time of 1:57.12.

Surf Life Saving

Clareburt attributes competing in Surf Life Saving as a reason he remained in the sport of competitive swimming after joining the local Lyall Bay Surf Club aged 13. He was named in teams throughout his carer including the 2017 International Surf Rescue Challenge held at Mount Maunganui and 2017 World Rescue Championships in the Netherlands. Clareburt was named in the New Zealand Black Fins team to take part at World Championships in Italy in 2022 but suffered a broken arm in a skateboarding accident before the event.

Honours

* 2017: Junior Sportsman - Aotearoa Māori Sports Awards * 2018: Junior Sportsman - Aotearoa Māori Sports Awards * 2018: Swimming New Zealand Baxter O’Neill Trophy - Swimming of the Year Award * 2019: Swimming New Zealand Baxter O’Neill Trophy - Swimming of the Year Award * 2021: Swimming New Zealand Baxter O’Neill Trophy - Swimming of the Year Award * 2022: Swimming New Zealand Baxter O’Neill Trophy - Swimming of the Year Award * 2022: Senior Māori Sportsperson of the Year

Personal Life

Clareburt was born and grew up in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, where he attended Scots College in his youth. Clareburt studied a Bachelor of Commerce at

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

. Clareburt has a connection with

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

References

External links