Chad le Clos, currently the most decorated swimmer at this year’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast, will pursue one of his biggest dreams.
This Friday, le Clos will launch the Chad le Clos Academy (CLeC). This Academy will focus on training young children to swim, as well as those with Olympic aspirations.
Le Clos himself began swimming competitively at the age of ten, and had already made the senior Olympic swimming squad by the time he was 14.
In January, le Clos moved to Cape Town from his native Durban, and also announced that he would begin the process of finding an appropriate swimming pool to launch his elite academy. The academy is situated at the Quadrant Complex in Claremont.
He hopes to expand the academy to other provinces throughout South Africa.
The superstar swimmer has bagged a total of 17 gold medals throughout his career, earning three at this month’s Commonwealth Games. At the tender age of 18 years, he already held two senior South African records, as well as Commonwealth junior and senior records.
According to Kathryn Nurse of the CLeC Academy, they are very proud of Le Clos for representing South Africa with such humility and honor during the Commonwealth Games.
Le Clos’ father, Bert le Clos, is excited about his son’s prospects of the academy, especially after his recent success at the Commonwealth Games.
“He became the first to win the most medals in the history of the Commonwealth Games and also the first to win three consecutive gold medals at the Games. He rewrote the history book three times,” said a delighted Bert.
He clinched his third gold medal after wining the 100m butterfly last Monday, setting a record of 50.65 seconds. His other victories also included gold medals for 50m and 200m butterfly at the event.
Picture: Twitter