Le Clos, who made the semi-finals by just .08 seconds on Monday, got off to a very strong start in lane eight of the four-lap race and at one stage he was within a world record time.

The 29-year-old, who famously beat Michael Phelps in the 2012 London Olympics to win gold in the event touched the wall in 1:55.06 to set the third-fastest time going into the final.

The world record holder, Kristof Milak, from Hungary, clocked the fastest time in the semi-finals with a blistering 1:52:22 and is the firm favourite for gold. He will be swimming in lane four in the final.

The Brazilian, Leonardo de Deus, was the second-fastest in qualifying for the final and his time of 1:54.97 has earned him lane five.

Le Clos will be swimming in lane three with the Italian, Federico Burdisso, in lane six.

Le Clos is South Africa’s most decorated Olympian with one gold and three silver medals which he won at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

The 200m butterfly final for men will take place at 3:49am on Wednesday morning.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport