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Christian SPRENGER
Sport Swimming
NOC Australia   
GenderMen
Born19 Dec 1985 in Brisbane, AUS
Height1.96 m
Weight 93 kg
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Higher education
 Industrial Design - Queensland University of Technology: Brisbane, QLD, AUS
General Interest
Famous relatives
 His cousin Nicholas Sprenger competed in swimming at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. His wife Amelia Evatt Davey also competes in swimming. (Swimming Australia, 16 Jun 2010; dailytelegraph.com.au, 30 Jul 2013)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
 He followed his brother into the sport.
General Interest
Hero / Idol
 Australian swimmer Leisel Jones and Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima. (Swimming Australia, 16 Jun 2010; couriermail.com.au, 29 Mar 2014)
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?
 He took up swimming at age eight and began to concentrate on breaststroke at age 13.
International Debut
Year
 2006
Competing for
 Australia
Tournament
 Commonwealth Games
Location
 Melbourne, VIC
Further Personal Information
Languages
 English
General Interest
Nicknames
 Sprenger (Swimming Australia, 16 Jun 2010)
Sporting philosophy / motto
 "Don't let anyone tell you that you're not good enough." (Swimming Australia, 16 Jun 2010)
Other information
 RETIREMENT
He retired from competitive swimming in January 2016. "After returning in 2015, after almost four months out of the water, I worked hard to get back what I had lost, but although I may have thought I wanted it, it was not enough. Towards the end of 2015, my breaststroke just didn't feel how it used to, and I became more and more frustrated." (swimswam.com, 20 Jan 2016)

ONLINE ASSISTANCE
He partially credits his 2013 100m breaststroke world championship gold medal to watching YouTube videos of his own races and those of Japanese breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 30 Jul 2013)

TATTOO
He has a tattoo of the Olympic rings on the left side of his chest. (olympics.com.au, 26 Mar 2012)
Awards and honours
 He was inducted into the Australian Path of Champions in 2014. The Path of Champions recognises the achievements of Australia’s top athletes. (swimswam.com, 21 Oct 2014)

He received the People's Choice Award at the 2012 Australian Swimming Awards. (Swimming Australia, 24 Nov 2012)
Further Personal Information
Family
 Wife Amelia
General Interest
Injuries
 He suffered back and shoulder problems from July to October 2014. His shoulder problems continued to hamper his performances throughout 2015. (swimswam.com, 13 Sep 2014; 05 Nov 2014; 15 Nov 2015)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
3 2012 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:31.58
2 2012 London, ENG 100m Breaststroke 58.93 
Semifinal 2008 Beijing, CHN 100m Breaststroke 1:00.76
Heats 2008 Beijing, CHN 200m Breaststroke 2:12.56
2 2008 Beijing, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 100m Breaststroke 1:01.13
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 50m Breaststroke 27.54
1 2013 Barcelona, ESP 100m Breaststroke 58.79
2 2013 Barcelona, ESP 50m Breaststroke 26.78
2 2013 Barcelona, ESP 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:31.64
Semifinal 2011 Shanghai, CHN 100m Breaststroke 1:00.44
2 2011 Shanghai, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
3 2009 Rome, ITA 200m Breaststroke 2:07.80
Semifinal 2009 Rome, ITA 100m Breaststroke 59.98
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 50m Breaststroke 27.88
3 2009 Rome, ITA 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 200m Breaststroke 2:09.52
Semifinal 2010 Dubai, UAE 100m Breaststroke 59.21
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 50m Breaststroke 27.46
18 2006 Shanghai, CHN 100m Breaststroke 1:00.25
20 2006 Shanghai, CHN 200m Breaststroke 2:13.22
18 2006 Shanghai, CHN 50m Breaststroke 27.90
World Cup Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
28 2013   Overall  
2 2013 Beijing, CHN 50m Breaststroke 26.59
1 2013 Beijing, CHN 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:38.23
2 2013 Singapore, SGP 50m Breaststroke 26.24
1 2013 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:38.02
6 2013 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:36.46
2 2013 Tokyo, JPN 50m Breaststroke 26.26
1 2013 Tokyo, JPN 100m Breaststroke 57.14
1 2013 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:37.84
13 2012   Overall  
22 2011   Overall  
1 2011 Beijing, CHN 50m Breaststroke 26.64
1 2011 Beijing, CHN 100m Breaststroke 57.99
1 2011 Singapore, SGP 50m Breaststroke 26.67
3 2011 Singapore, SGP 200m Breaststroke 2:05.99
1 2011 Singapore, SGP 100m Breaststroke 57.91
1 2011 Tokyo, JPN 50m Breaststroke 26.54
2 2011 Tokyo, JPN 100m Breaststroke 57.57
18 2009   Overall  
1 2009 Singapore, SGP 200m Breaststroke 2:02.65
5 2008   Overall  
1 2008 Belo Horizonte, BRA 50m Breaststroke 26.89
1 2008 Belo Horizonte, BRA 200m Breaststroke 2:07.58
1 2008 Belo Horizonte, BRA 100m Breaststroke 58.19
3 2008 Berlin, GER 50m Breaststroke 27.04
2 2008 Berlin, GER 200m Breaststroke 2:06.73
2 2008 Durban, RSA 50m Breaststroke 26.74
1 2008 Durban, RSA 200m Breaststroke 2:06.07
2 2008 Durban, RSA 100m Breaststroke 58.55
2 2008 Moscow, RUS 50m Breaststroke 26.82
1 2008 Moscow, RUS 200m Breaststroke 2:05.75
3 2008 Moscow, RUS 100m Breaststroke 58.05
2 2008 Singapore, SGP 50m Breaststroke 26.86
1 2008 Singapore, SGP 200m Breaststroke 2:05.48
2 2008 Singapore, SGP 100m Breaststroke 58.54
3 2008 Stockholm, SWE 200m Breaststroke 2:06.48
3 2008 Stockholm, SWE 50m Breaststroke 26.86
1 2008 Sydney, NSW, AUS 50m Breaststroke 26.93
1 2008 Sydney, NSW, AUS 200m Breaststroke 2:06.43
1 2008 Sydney, NSW, AUS 100m Breaststroke 58.47
1 2007 Sydney, NSW, AUS 50m Breaststroke 27.12
1 2007 Sydney, NSW, AUS 200m Breaststroke 2:07.01
1 2007 Sydney, NSW, AUS 100m Breaststroke 58.71
1 2005/2006 Sydney, NSW, AUS 100m Breaststroke 59.58