Gregg Porteous has tweeted a brand new photo of Christian from the recent relay camp that took place in Camberra. A great underwater action shot of Christian!

RIP Alexander Dale Oen. A true champion who will be missed. Our thought are with his friends and family.

Sprenger shocked by death of rival
By Gordon Clark, 3rd May 2012

AUSTRALIAN breaststroke world record holder Christian Sprenger said he was “absolutely shocked” when he saw a Facebook post late on Tuesday night that said his long-time Norwegian rival and friend Alexander Dale Oen had died of a heart attack.

Norwegian Swimming officials said Dale Oen had been found collapsed in a shower after a training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona.

He had suffered a cardiac arrest and was unable to be resuscitated.

The 26-year-old won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships in Shanghai in July 2011 and was regarded as one of his country’s best medal hopes in London.

The same age as Dale Oen, Sprenger said they had become friends and rivals a decade ago – before they even met.

“When we both started achieving good times as 16-year-olds, they’d get put on the net and we were always keeping a close eye on how each other was going,” Sprenger said.

“We first raced each other in Europe in 2007. We’d both looked forward to meeting each other and we became good friends from then on.”

Sprenger said Dale Oen was not only a champion in the pool, he was a champion out of it as well.

“The people you respect are those who are there whether you beat them, or you are struggling,” Sprenger said.

“Alexander was one of those. He had all the characteristics of a champion.”

Source: The Reporter

Olympic dreams a reality for QUT elite athletes
23rd March 2012

Gruelling training, discipline and determination have paid off for three high-profile swimmers from QUT, who will represent Australia at the London 2012 Olympics in July.

Olympic gold medallist Bronte Barratt, 23, Olympic silver medallist Christian Sprenger, 26, and Nick D’Arcy, 24, who holds the national record for the men’s 200m butterfly, secured places on the Australian swim team during national Olympic selection trials.

Sprenger, who has deferred studies at QUT this semester to help him prepare for the London Olympics, won the men’s 100m breaststroke final at the Australia Swimming Championships, held in Adelaide from March 15 to 22.

The Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) student said he was thrilled to be heading to London.

“It’s a big relief to be on the team. I made the team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, so to become a dual Olympian is a pretty amazing thing,” Sprenger said.

“It has been quite challenging over the last couple of years to retain my speed and try to stay on top in Australia.

“It has been a really good journey and I hope to continue competing for a few more years.”

Sprenger was a silver medallist in the Beijing 2008 Olympics as part of the men’s 4x100m medley team.

Continue reading at QUT News

If you want to see Christian’s victory in the 50m breaststroke final again, then here’s your chance! I’ve added it to the site as well as 9 photos from last night’s race.

 •   2012 Australian Championships

Christian has won the 50m breaststroke title at the Australian Championships tonight, in a personal best time of 27.43. Unfortunately, this isn’t an Olympic event but it does top off a very successful meet for Christian!

Congratulations Christian!

Christian has qualified first for tonight’s final of the 50m breaststroke in Adelaide. His time of 27.66 was over half a second faster than the rest of the field.

Unfortunately the semi final wasn’t telecast last night and there’s no guarantee the final will be either. Telecast of tonight’s swimming begins on Ten at 8pm AEDST. The 50m breaststroke final will be later on in the evening on OneHD.

The 50m breaststroke heats were swam this morning in Adelaide and Christian’s time of 28.54 saw him qualify easily for the semi finals tonight in 4th spot. keep in mind that this is unfortunately not an Olympic event.

You can see the semi finals tonight on Channel 10 and OneHD from 8pm (AEDST). Check local guides for more details.

You may know Christian from the 2009 Swimming World Championships in Rome where he broke the 200m breaststroke world record in the semi finals. He followed that up with a bronze medal in the finals and another world record (200m breaststroke) shortly after at the Australian Short Course Championships.

If you have any questions, comments or things to contribute to the site, then please contact me. I'm always happy to hear feedback and welcome anything that you may have to contribute.

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