Chad tells followers he is finally a MAN!

OLYMPIC champion Chad le Clos's 21st birthday in Durban yesterday was billed by his family as the "party to end all parties".

They spared no expense hiring a venue on the city's popular Florida Road restaurant strip, footing the bar bill and laying on an extravagant spread of cocktail nibbles.

Le Clos's sister, Bianca Matos, said it had taken two months to prepare the party at the elegant Czar restaurant.

More than 200 of Le Clos's closest friends and family were invited to the birthday bash.

On the guest list were his coach, Graham Hill, Olympic silver medallist Terence Parkin, Swimming South Africa CEO Shaun Adriaanse, and representatives of his sponsors.

His sister spent the week preparing the double-storey restaurant, which is popular with the country's A-list celebrities.

Matos said her brother - who commands appearance fees for as much as R80000 per appearance - had wanted to keep the celebration small and simple.

"He didn't have any special requests. He was just happy to have a party, be with his family and friends and have fun."

Le Clos has been tweeting about the party since last week, on one occasion telling his 104444 Twitter followers: "I'm finally a MAN!"

He even asked his fans for suggestions on the suit he should wear to the event.

One of the highlights of the bash was the appearance of international DJ Bhaskar, and another was a slide show of pictures from his first forays in the water, up until the time he beat US swimming superstar Michael Phelps in front of 21000 spectators at the London Olympic Games last year.

The cocktail menu included small lamb bunny chows, cocktail lamb chops with mint sauce, beef sirloin, Mediterranean chicken with herb-toasted pita chips and paprika hummus, salsa-crumbed buffalo wings with blue-cheese dressing, and small mini BBQ chicken kebabs. Sushi and fruit platters were also available.

Matos set up a gift registry for her brother at Mr Price Home with items such as a R4500 dining-room table, six mahogany dining chairs worth R699 each, a R4000 lounge suite and a red kettle priced at R699.

The items on the registry are for a flatlet being built for Le Clos on his parent's property in Pinetown, outside Durban.

Other items included a cover for a king-size bed priced at R399, a cotton duvet cover worth R359 and a R159 ice bucket.