Introducing Chad le Clos

Discovery Vitality ambassador, coach and spokesperson

Chad le Clos sped into the hearts of South Africans when he beat swimming legend Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

As this extraordinary young man’s career develops, he adds yet another feather to his cap this year: becoming Discovery Vitality’s ambassador, coach, and spokesperson.

Although Chad has had extraordinary success so far, he still aims to break Michael Phelp’s long-course world record. Considering he spends around 24 hours a week swimming, he’s likely to make that goal a reality. In fact, Chad is so busy swimming that he doesn’t participate in any other sports. “I used to play and love soccer, but I haven’t kicked a ball for five years,” he says. “It’s one of the sacrifices I have to make. Swimming is a full-time job and I do nothing to jeopardise my training. There are no weekends off!”

Keeping a balance

Despite his hectic training sessions, he manages to maintain a balance in his life. He has two nights a week to spend time with friends and he enjoys playing on his PlayStation. But he keeps his goals firmly in sight, saying 22:00 is a late night for him.

Chad started swimming for an unlikely reason. Besides his love of the sport and his competitive spirit, he also had asthma as a child and found that swimming helped to reduce his symptoms.

Chad’s father, Bert, whose fame rose around the country almost as fast as his son’s, supports Chad in his training by cooking for him. While Chad’s not a fussy eater, he prefers healthy foods. He doesn’t count his calories and eats what he feels like, although he says his diet is focussed around his training.

Chad’s favourite event to race is the 200m butterfly because that’s what he won his Olympic gold in. But his recent wins in the 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly and 200m backstroke, in addition to the 200m butterfly win at the World Cup, may result in him diversifying his portfolio. His favourite competitions are the Olympics and the World Cup. Since he has dominated at the World Cup, the next step is to do the same at the Olympics in Rio next year.