At first inspection, the Le Clos household is, like most families, in December holiday mode. Champ Chad is still in his dressing gown after a rare lie-in, while father Bert plays the shirtless waiter.
The sound of cartoons welcomes you, and a half-devoured bowl of cereal suggests the doorbell may have interrupted brunch. The only give-away that all is not normal are the four World Short Course Championships gold medals sitting casually on the table, reflecting yet another stellar week at the office for the Le Clos clan.
Upstairs, the bachelor pad that Le Clos was building before the Commonwealth Games is now complete. But, at this phenomenal rate of success, it may yet be converted into a trophy room.
“Man, it’s been an amazing year; my best yet. It’s all quite unbelievable, really.”
Le Clos’ incredible haul included seven medals at the Commonwealth Games, as well as an undefeated streak of World Series events, as he catapulted himself into waters few can attest to touching.
It was no surprise when he was crowned as the FINA World Swimmer of the Year, a few days before his latest feats at the World Championships.
“Outside the Olympics, that was without a doubt my greatest accomplishment. To me, that award is like the Ballon D’Or of swimming.
“There is no prize money or anything, just the respect and the personal honour of knowing you have been recognised as the best in the world in what you do.
“That is what we all grow up wanting to achieve, I guess. And here we are now…”
His voice trails away, but the half smile dancing on his face betrays the fact that away from the cameras, and the sponsors, and the ever growing army of Chad-lets, few things still beat the pure joy of winning, and doing it often.
Even as he chats, there is a pile of letters, books and photos, waiting for his increasingly valuable signature. It comes with the territory of being the best in your chosen field.
“I wouldn’t be here without the support. And the recognition, be it from sponsors or fans, is all part of it, because otherwise we may as well be swimming in the back garden alone.”
If 2014’s startling achievements in his watery domain are anything to go by, Le Clos is well on his way to playing out a dominance to rival that of his Olympic mugging victim, Michael Phelps.
“I realised the other day that it’s been over two years since I was beaten in the butterfly.
“That’s good going, but Phelps did that for 10 years, so I have a long way to go,” he mused.
Unbeatable in the World Series, and simply unstoppable at his favoured butterfly discipline, Le Clos is not being cocky when he looks that far down the line. He is merely being realistic.
“It was an amazing way to end the season, and to be the first guy to do the treble-fly was even more special. I felt under quite a bit of pressure going into that last race (200m) and (Daiya) Seto from Japan really pushed me hard.”
So hard, in fact, that Le Clos admits he was actually second best in many ways, with Seto setting a personal best and pushing the world record mark hard. But Le Clos nudged it even firmer, setting a championship record and earning his fourth golden gong.
“I guess you could put that (winning, even not at his best) down to the experience I’ve gained over the last few years. I got lucky, and found a way to pip him to the line, because I hadn’t expected him to be that close.”
Seto has certainly made strides over the last two seasons, but Le Clos expects his challengers to come from all corners. The higher he stacks the number of marquee races without a defeat, the bigger the proverbial bulls-eye on his back becomes.
“It’s good for the sport, and I always enjoy the competition. But ever since the Olympics, I have felt that I just have to win all the big butterfly events, and I want to continue that. Winning three in one event, which had never been done before, was just a great way to end a massive year.”
As he looks into the future, which includes a priceless 10 days off for Christmas, Le Clos is also excited at the burgeoning prospect of Durban hosting the Commonwealth Games.
“Wow! Having an event like that, right here? That really would be unbelievable,” the 22-year-old grinned.
“I would be 30 by then, but I don’t think I would be able to resist the chance of swimming at such an event on my home turf. By then, I might only be doing a few sprint events, because the training for the 200m is hectic,” he reasoned.
The lure of a home Commonwealth Games would not just be a personal highlight for Le Clos. With it would come the promise of an even brighter future for the next generation of stars to follow in his considerable slipstream.
“You know, when we race all over the world at all these amazing facilities, I always feel it is a bit of a waste, because they don’t get used nearly as often as they would here in Durban.
“So if we did host a Games, the legacy of that would mean world-class facilities for the guys who follow when I am a ballie,” he chuckled.
Guys like his younger brother Jordan, who had been up at 5am training while his big brother dozed in.
“I’ve been there, hey,” Chad quickly recalled.
He’s still in his dressing gown, but Le Clos is never still for too long. This week’s KZN Championships will see him as the headline act, regardless of how much time he spends in the pool.
“I’ll definitely be there, to support my brother. Maybe I’ll do one or two events,” he offered.
“Ha, he can’t help himself! He’ll definitely swim. It’s in his blood,” said the shirtless waiter, clearing the empty cups and the half-eaten cereal.
But not the medals…