I always tell people, I'm a better swimmer because I'm a mom and a better mom because I'm swimmer.
People wanted to be friends with me for not the right reasons. They'd introduce me to somebody else as the Olympian or the swimmer. I didn't want to stand out. I wanted to blend in.
I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them.
I'm not a highly outgoing person. I'm pretty guarded when you first meet me. But being in a Speedo for my entire life growing up, because I was a swimmer, and being naked in front of people now, doesn't really bother me.
My older sister Celia is an actress as well. She's a little bit older than me. So, in my formative years, she was always performing, and we would always go see her do things. And so, that just made me want to be... like her. Maybe if she was an Olympic swimmer, I would probably be an Olympic swimmer by now as well!
I was an avid swimmer and was state champ at age 12.
I resisted Twitter for a long time. To me, it was synonymous with networking, which in my mind means unceasing self-promotion and superficial small-talk with strangers. A little like wading into a river with a raging current - and I'm a terrible swimmer.
I believe now that I've cemented my spot as the best swimmer in the world, and I can't describe how proud that makes me. I just want to keep working hard and hopefully just inspire more youngsters to keep swimming and encourage South Africans to become a winning nation.
I want to set myself as a real legend in the sport, like Phelps and Mark Spitz are remembered worldwide. I want people to say, like they say of Ronaldo that he is the best soccer player in the world, I want them to say Chad Le Clos is the best swimmer in the world.
I realise every swimmer has a shelf life. No, I haven't given any thought to when I will retire, but I also know I won't be able to swim forever.
