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Cameron: A life-changing win

London - An emotional Cameron van der Burgh spoke of his “life-changing” experience after winning the gold medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke at the 2012 London Olympics on Monday night.

Van der Burgh said he was “humbled” after 14 years of hard work paid off on Sunday night as he romped to victory at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park, setting a new world record in the process.

Posing next to his medal - which he dubbed his “brand new baby” - at a jam-packed press conference in Kensington, Van der Burgh talked about the “millions of Twitter messages” he’d received in the hours following his emphatic victory, including one from his boyhood idol, fellow South African Olympic medallist, Penny Heyns.

Van der Burgh admitting to being in “excruciating pain” during the race as he followed his coach, Dirk Lange’s, advice in going out hard in the first 50m, while his memorable celebration post-race, where he straddled the lane rope, was purely spontaneous and not premeditated.

As a die-hard Arsenal fan, Van der Burgh plans to visit the Emirates Stadium in the next few days as the reality of being South Africa’s latest Olympic medal winner sinks in.

Garrin is at the 2012 London Olympics courtesy of British Airways

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