‘Homeless’ Le Clos raises money for fire-struck neighbours

Just days after making Commonwealth Games history, Chad le Clos returned to a very different kind of reality. His home at the Dorchester in Sea Point had been gutted in a fire. And he’d lost a neighbour he was fond of.  

The fire tore through the building on High Level Road on 30 July, destroying several top-floor apartments, displacing dozens of residents, and claiming the life of 93-year-old neighbour Sam Strime.  

Swimming star Le Clos was in Glasgow, having celebrated becoming the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history, when the blaze engulfed the home he’d lived in for more than a decade. 

Now, Le Clos is raising funds for his mostly Jewish neighbours. He launched a fundraising campaign through the Chad le Clos Foundation to help those affected begin rebuilding their lives. He has so far raised R12 000.  

“To my fellow neighbours whose homes and lives have been severely affected by this fire, please know that you are not alone,” Le Clos wrote on Instagram on 4 August. “This is a tight-knit community, and it is in moments like these that we lean on one another.  

“Together with my foundation, I have set up a dedicated campaign solely to assist my neighbours as they embark on a very difficult journey of rebuilding. One hundred percent of any donations raised will go solely to my neighbours, with the Chad le Clos Foundation managing the proceeds to ensure they are looked after,” he wrote.  

“It’s been an incredibly difficult time for the whole Dorchester community,” Le Clos told the SA Jewish Report. “We’d been neighbours for almost 10 years, so we would see each other most days. I would so often see Sam Strime’s daughter, Lauren, coming through, walking the dog, going to the shop, just in passing. When I was in Cape Town, we would see each other almost every day, so it’s been tragic to have this happen.  

“But I think the most important thing to remember in this tragedy is that a life was lost. That puts everything into perspective. The other families who lost their homes, me included, are devastated, but we didn’t lose a loved one. I’m grateful that I still have my parents and my family,” he said. 

“In some respects, the Commonwealth Games saved my life. If I had been in the apartment, I probably wouldn’t have heard anything. I always sleep with an eye mask, so I’m not sure I would have known what was happening. It’s just incredibly sad what happened,” he said. 

As soon as he saw the devastation the fire had caused, he’d wanted to help his neighbours and immediately launched his fundraiser.  

“My immediate question was: who else had been affected? We decided to go and help our neighbours and the community in whatever way we could. All the donations that come through will go to the affected residents. We’re also setting up some other initiatives to try to help out. I’m just grateful and blessed that I still have my family,” he said. 

“Unfortunately, I lost everything [in the apartment]. There’s nothing left to salvage. I lost a lot of medals – I’m not even sure whether the Olympic medals were there – as well as my World Cup medals and all the memorabilia I’ve collected over the years. All my Olympic gold tracksuits and other sentimental things are gone. Obviously, all my training equipment was lost as well,” Le Clos said. 

Ryan Passmore, the chairperson of the Chad le Clos Foundation, said that while they haven’t had time to assess the damage in the swimmer’s apartment as they were only recently let in, they are aware that many of the apartments on the top floor have significant water damage. 

“We’re still trying to understand where things currently stand. We know there is an investigation into the fire, and there are certain processes that need to be followed, but in the meantime, the neighbours have immediate needs and pressing concerns simply to get through day-to-day life. That’s why we felt the urgent need to step in and help,” he said. 

Le Clos had been living in his apartment at the Dorchester since he bought it in 2014.  

“It’s a devastating loss, but thankfully Chad and his parents are still here. Unfortunately, others were not so lucky,” said Passmore.  

The foundation is not the only charity drive for Dorchester residents. A few BackaBuddy campaigns have already raised more than R800 000 in total for those who lost everything.  

“Our fundraising has raised a relatively small amount compared with some of the other campaigns, but as we’ve looked into them, we’ve seen friends and fellow competitors contributing to the various neighbours’ funds. So, for us, it’s not only about the funds we can raise ourselves, but about creating awareness about the other campaigns and encouraging people to support them,” said Passmore. 

“Ultimately, we feel that the funds and awareness being generated across all the campaigns are helping to support the affected residents,” he said.  

Said Le Clos, “I lost a lot on a personal level, but again, I want to put things into perspective. I want to use this platform to help others. As much as my family and I are suffering, other people have lost so much too.”