Throughout my whole swimming career, I've never been disqualified once. I've never been warned once.

He is Africa's first home-trained world record holder and individual male Olympic Champion He trains with Dirk Lange and is based in Pretoria. He won the world title in the same year at the Rome championship also in the 50 m breaststroke. Van der Burgh obtained his first world long-course record (27.

06s) in the 50 m breaststroke in the semifinals at South African nationals in April 2009. 12 seconds of Oleg Lisogor's old world record set in 2002.