Lewis Clareburt has grown up in and around the water. Clareburt learnt to swim with the TSW Dolphins and recalls being tested to see how long he could hold his breath at the end of each lesson – a skill that has certainly come in handy with the demands of his pet event, the 400m individual medley.

Spending time at the pool as a youngster and watching his sisters at training spurred him on to join the sport. Originally from Wellington, Clareburt spent most of his competitive swimming years at Capital Swim Club. From his mid-to-late teenage years, he was a strong age group swimmer, still holding four national age records to this day. Clareburt trained under the watchful eye of coach Gary Hollywood from sixteen years of age, with the partnership going on to earn more than ten medals on the international stage.

In 2016, Clareburt made his international debut at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Hawai’i, where he had a best finish of seventh place in the 200m butterfly.

Clareburt made his second international appearance at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games a year later. He demonstrated his skills across the strokes, taking home seven medals, including five individual medals in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events.

A late call-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games saw Clareburt make his debut as Aquablack #257 on the Gold Coast. Taking on four events, Clareburt was a breakout performer at the Games and made a name for himself on the world stage by winning bronze in the 400m individual medley and shaving four seconds off his best time.

Clareburt has been an integral part of each Aquablack team since.

He competed at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, scooping up a fifth-place finish in the 400m individual medley and eighth-place finishes in the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley events.

Clareburt continued his rise internationally by claiming bronze in the 400m individual medley at the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju. It was a statement swim from the Wellingtonian, clocking 4:12.07 from an outside lane to become the first New Zealander since 2015 to win a medal at the championships. At these championships, Clareburt posted a qualifying time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

After the Olympic Games were delayed a year due to the global pandemic, Clareburt competed for the New York Breakers at the ISL in late 2020.

Day one at the Olympic Games in Tokyo saw Clareburt in action, taking on his pet event – the 400m individual medley. It was a fantastic heat performance for the 22-year-old, clocking a time of 4:09.49 to break the Commonwealth record. However, Australian Brendon Smith lowered the Commonwealth mark one heat later. Clareburt progressed to the final as the second-fastest qualifier and placed seventh. Days later, Clareburt would make his second Olympic final, where he broke the New Zealand record in the 200m individual medley to finish eighth.

After fourth and seventh-place finishes in the 400m and 200m individual medley events at the 2022 FINA World Aquatics Championships, Clareburt blossomed a month later at the Commonwealth Games.

A standout performer at the Games in Birmingham, Clareburt took home two gold medals and a bronze. He reclaimed the Commonwealth record on his way to gold in the 400m individual medley and took down the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, Chad le Clos, in the 200m butterfly to earn his second gold medal. He rounded out his campaign by winning bronze in the 200m individual medley.

Clareburt competed at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, with a best finish of sixth place in the 400m individual medley.

In late 2023, Clareburt moved to Auckland to join coach Mitch Nairn at Club 37. Shortly after, he was crowned world champion in the 400m individual medley at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, winning the gold in a time of 4:09.72. In doing so, Clareburt became the second New Zealander to win gold at a World Aquatics Championships and the first male to do so. It was in this race that he qualified for his second Olympic Games.

The four-time Commonwealth Games medallist and reigning World Champion is primed for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he will compete in the 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, and 200m butterfly.

🥇 2024 World Aquatics Championships - 400m individual medley

2024 World Aquatics Championships gold medallist in the 400m individual medley, clocking a time of 4:09.72. Clareburt became the second New Zealander to become a win a World Aquatics Championship, and the first male to do so

🥇 2022 Commonwealth Games Champion & Commonwealth record - 400m individual medley

2022 Commonwealth Games Champion in the Men's 400m Individual Medley, breaking the Commonwealth and Games records with a time of 4:08.70

🥇 2022 Commonwealth Games Champion - 200m butterfly

2022 Commonwealth Games Champion in the 200m butterfly, clocking a time of 1:55.60

🥉 2022 Commonwealth Games - 200m individual medley

2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in the 200m individual medley, clocking a time of 1:57.59

🥉 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships - 400m individual medley

2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships bronze medallist in the 400m individual medley, clocking a time of 4:12.07 and qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games

🥉 2018 Commonwealth Games - 400m individual medley

2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in the 400m individual medley, clocking a time of 4:14.42 upon his debut as Aquablack #257

💥 Three-time 2018 Pan Pacific Championships finalist - 400m individual medley, 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly

Fifth-place finish in the 400m individual medley and eighth-place finishes in the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley events at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo

🥇 Seven-time medallist at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, including three golds

Took home seven medals from the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas. He won gold medals in the 200m freestyle, 400m individual medley, and mixed 4x200m freestyle relay; silver medals in the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, and mixed 4x100m medley relay; and a bronze in the 400m freestyle