Chad le Clos made waves in the world of competitive swimming at the 2012 Olympic Games when he out swam his icon Michael Phelps by 0.5 seconds.

Born in Durban to Bert and Geraldine le Clos, Chad is one of four children and part of a very close-knit family. He began swimming competitively at the age of ten, and had already made the senior Olympic squad by the time he was 14. By the age of 18 he held two senior South African records, as well as the Commonwealth Junior and Senior records.

Le Clos also competed in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, bringing home five medals. In 2010, he won gold in every major event he competed in, including the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai.

Le Clos has won gold at three events he has participated in during they year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games hosted in Australia, including Men’s 100 Butterfly, Men’s 200m Butterfly, as well as Men’s 50m Butterfly. He won the silver medal for the Men’s 100m Freestyle.

The swimming star celebrates his birthday on the Gold Coast today, with mum Geraldine. The swimmer turns 26 years old, and we from Cape Town ETC would just like to say happy birthday, Chad!

 

Pictures: Twitter/Instagram

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.