Guy De Clercq was born in 1923 in Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. He was a great water skier and highly respected as an ambassador of the sport. He tied for the overall title and won the jumps at the first World Championships at water skiing in 1949 at Juan-Le-Pins, France. He again won the jumping in 1950 at Cypress Gardens. He was European Champion in 1949 in jumping and overall, and also won the European jumping championship in 1951. His brother Claude was European overall champion in 1947, and from 1950 until 1952, with a further eight individual titles.