Not only did Cameron van der Burgh take home South Africa’s first gold medal at the London Olympics this year (and break the world record), but he also had us all drooling in front of the TV with his body of steel. After seeing him win the breastroke 100m race, we couldn’t decide if we were giddy about his win for South Africa, or his incredible torso and cute smile (or maybe just both)!
At just 23 years old, even though he’s an Olympic winner, Cameron van der Burgh still certainly feels the pressure – “More than anything else is the pressure I put on myself knowing where I am at the moment.” To him pressure, and feeling it, is a privilege and he reminds himself of that when it gets too much. He’s also made the decision to train in SA rather than abroad to improve the profile of swimming locally, which means he’s living on South African soil!
So what’s he like away from the pool? He’s just as active with a love of everything outdoors –in his free time he runs, does yoga, plays golf, hikes, paraglides and maintains a keen interest in photography. Jokingly he says he’s giving the ‘bone-breaking’ activities a rest until after the Olympics.
Hmmm – does that mean he’ll have time for other things, like dating perhaps? A girl can dream, you know!
Final image by Louis Botha
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