Chad le Clos has been nominated for two of this year’s South African Sports Awards. The South African Department of Sports and Recreation announced the nominees for their 10th Annual Sports Awards earlier this week.
le Clos has been nominated for both the Sportsman of the Year and the People’s Choice Award.
The two other nominees for the Sportsman of the Year are Greg Minaar and Wayde van Niekerk. Minnaar is a cyclist who finished second at the 2015 UCI Downhill World Championships and won his 18th World Cup event, which is the record for the most by any individual in downhilling racing history. van Niekerk took gold in the 400 meter at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.
Although le Clos did not have his best season in 2015 he did win gold in the 100 butterfly and silver in the 200 butterfly at the World Championships in Kazan.
The nominees for the People’s Choice Award also include AB De Villiers, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Lucas Sithole and Wayde van Niekerk.
le Clos is not the only swimmer who has been nominated for one of this year’s sports awards. Peggy de Villiers, who is a senior at the University of West Florida, has been nominated for the Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability. De Villiers broke both the 50 and 100 butterfly world records at the 2015 World Deaf Championships.
Graham Hill, who coaches le Clos, is up for Coach of the Year.