The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver

Chad Le Clos Awarded for:

His excellent achievements on the international swimming stage, especially at the London Olympics in 2012, thus placing South Africa in high standing globally in the field of Aquatic sports.

Profile of Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos

Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos made international headlines, when as a proverbial David against Goliath, he beat two-times Olympic champion, Michael Phelps at the 2012 London Olympics.

Le Clos was born on 12 April 1992 to Burt and Geraldine le Clos. He attended Westville Boy’s High School in Durban, matriculating in 2010. Under the encouragement and nurturing of his parents who spotted his talent, le Clos started swimming at a young age. Since 2002, when he started competing at the tender age of 10, he has gone from strength to strength. In 2010, he won five medals at the Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore and he was chosen as the Daily News SPAR Sports Person of the Year, which nominates top school sportsmen and women.

At the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Le Clos collected two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. He won the 200-metre butterfly and the 400-metre individual medley, breaking the Commonwealth Games record in both events. At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, he finished fifth in the 200-metre butterfly, 13th in the 100-metre butterfly and 10th in the 4x100-metre medley relay.

At the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Dubai, Le Clos won a gold medal in the 200-metre butterfly.

But it was Le Clos’ achievements at the 2012 London Summer Olympics that stunned the world. He won gold in the 200-meter butterfly in one minute 52,96 seconds, edging out the 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion Michael Phelps, by 0,05 seconds. On the seventh day of the Olympics, Le Clos also won silver in the 100-metre butterfly, in a time of 51,44 seconds.