Barcelona - Cameron van der Burgh has won silver in the 100m breaststroke at the FINA world championships, narrowly missing out on gold.
The 25-year-old, who last year won the Olympic gold over the same distance and is also world record holder, was beaten by Australia's Christian Sprenger.
Sprenger clocked a time of 58.79 with Van der Burgh second in 58.97, his fastest time of this year, with Brazil's Felipe Lima finishing in third with a time of 59.65.
Van der Burgh got off to a blistering start to the race, as is his customary approach, touching at the wall in a split time quicker than when he set the world record at last year's Olympics.
However, Van der Burgh slowed down severeley in the final quarter of the race, allowing Sprenger to catch up and overtake him as the Olympic champion was tiring.
Van der Burgh had previously won gold in the 50m breaststroke at the 2009 world championships, bronze over the 50m and 100m breaststroke at the 2011 worlds, as well as the gold in London.
The defending champion, Norway's Alexander Dale Oen, died of a heart attack in Arizona in 2012 during a training camp.
Van der Burgh's silver is South Africa's first medal at the 2013 world championships.
Results from swimming world championships on Monday (finals only):
Men:
100m breaststroke:
1. Christian Sprenger (AUS) 58.79sec, 2. Cameron Van Der Burgh (RSA) 58.97, 3. Felipe Lima (BRA) 59.65, 4. Damir Dugonjic (SLO) 59.68, 5. Fabio Scozzoli (ITA) 59.70, 6. Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 59.98, 7. Kevin Cordes (USA) 1min 00.02sec, 8. Nicolas Fink (USA) 1:00.10
50m butterfly:
1. Cesar Cielo Filho (BRA) 23.01sec, 2. Eugene Godsoe (USA) 23.05, 3. Frederick Bousquet (FRA) 23.11, 4. Nicholas Santos (BRA) 23.21, 5. Andrii Govorov (UKR) 23.22, >
Women:
100m butterfly:
1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 56.53sec, 2. Alicia Coutts (AUS) 56.97, 3. Dana Vollmer (USA) 57.24, 4. Jeanette Ottesen Gray (DEN) 57.27, 5. Katerine Savard (CAN) 57.97, 6. Ilaria Bianchi (ITA) 58.11, 7. Noemie Ip-Ting Thomas (CAN) 58.13, 8. Claire Donahue (USA) 58.30
200m medley:
1. Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2min 07.92sec, 2. Alicia Coutts (AUS) 2:09:39, 3. Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP) 2:09.45, 4. Ye Shiwen (CHN) 2:10.48, 5. Caitlin Leverenz (USA) 2:10.73, 6. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (HUN) 2:10.95, 7. Sophie Allen (GBR) 2:11.32, 8. Siobhan-Marie Oconnor (GBR) 2:12.03
The 25-year-old, who last year won the Olympic gold over the same distance and is also world record holder, was beaten by Australia's Christian Sprenger.
Sprenger clocked a time of 58.79 with Van der Burgh second in 58.97, his fastest time of this year, with Brazil's Felipe Lima finishing in third with a time of 59.65.
Van der Burgh got off to a blistering start to the race, as is his customary approach, touching at the wall in a split time quicker than when he set the world record at last year's Olympics.
However, Van der Burgh slowed down severeley in the final quarter of the race, allowing Sprenger to catch up and overtake him as the Olympic champion was tiring.
Van der Burgh had previously won gold in the 50m breaststroke at the 2009 world championships, bronze over the 50m and 100m breaststroke at the 2011 worlds, as well as the gold in London.
The defending champion, Norway's Alexander Dale Oen, died of a heart attack in Arizona in 2012 during a training camp.
Van der Burgh's silver is South Africa's first medal at the 2013 world championships.
Results from swimming world championships on Monday (finals only):
Men:
100m breaststroke:
1. Christian Sprenger (AUS) 58.79sec, 2. Cameron Van Der Burgh (RSA) 58.97, 3. Felipe Lima (BRA) 59.65, 4. Damir Dugonjic (SLO) 59.68, 5. Fabio Scozzoli (ITA) 59.70, 6. Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 59.98, 7. Kevin Cordes (USA) 1min 00.02sec, 8. Nicolas Fink (USA) 1:00.10
50m butterfly:
1. Cesar Cielo Filho (BRA) 23.01sec, 2. Eugene Godsoe (USA) 23.05, 3. Frederick Bousquet (FRA) 23.11, 4. Nicholas Santos (BRA) 23.21, 5. Andrii Govorov (UKR) 23.22, >
Women:
100m butterfly:
1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 56.53sec, 2. Alicia Coutts (AUS) 56.97, 3. Dana Vollmer (USA) 57.24, 4. Jeanette Ottesen Gray (DEN) 57.27, 5. Katerine Savard (CAN) 57.97, 6. Ilaria Bianchi (ITA) 58.11, 7. Noemie Ip-Ting Thomas (CAN) 58.13, 8. Claire Donahue (USA) 58.30
200m medley:
1. Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2min 07.92sec, 2. Alicia Coutts (AUS) 2:09:39, 3. Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP) 2:09.45, 4. Ye Shiwen (CHN) 2:10.48, 5. Caitlin Leverenz (USA) 2:10.73, 6. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (HUN) 2:10.95, 7. Sophie Allen (GBR) 2:11.32, 8. Siobhan-Marie Oconnor (GBR) 2:12.03