Van der Burgh delivers Olympic gold to SAfrica
Jul. 29 6:00 PM EDT
You are here
-
South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh is congratulated by Australia's Christian Sprenger after his gold medal win in the men's 100-meter breaststroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday, July 29, 2012.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
-
South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh shows his gold medal in the men's 100-meter breaststroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday, July 29, 2012.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
-
South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh celebrates his gold medal win in the men's 100-meter breaststroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday, July 29, 2012.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
-
Japan's Kosuke Kitajima reacts after competing in the men's 100-meter breaststroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday, July 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LONDON (AP) — Cameron van der Burgh hit the wall, turned around and checked the scoreboard. He had just become South Africa's first man to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming.
He splayed his body on the lane line, tucked his hands behind his head that rested against the wall, and smiled. Van Der Burgh beat a stellar field in the 100-meter breaststroke with a world-record time of 58.46 seconds on Sunday, but his mind was mostly on his late friend and fellow swimmer Alexander Dale Oen of Norway.
Brendan Hansen of the U.S. took the silver. Kosuke Kitajima of Japan finished fifth in his bid to become the first male swimmer to win an individual event for a third consecutive Olympics.
Comments