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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Finance - University of South Africa: Pretoria, RSA |
General Interest | |
| Awards and honours | In 2014 he received a Presidential award and an Order of Ikhamanga, which recognises South African citizens who have excelled in the fields of arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sport. (swimswam.com, 21 Aug 2016; cameronvdburgh.com, 10 Jul 2014) He was named Sportsman of the Year at the 2013 South African Sports Awards. (sport.iafrica.com, 18 Nov 2013) He was named the 2011 Swimmer of the Year at the Swimming South Africa Annual Aquatic Awards. (sport24.co.za, 12 Nov 2011) He was South Africa's flag bearer at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. (Facebook page, 03 Sep 2016) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Businessperson, Motivational Speaker |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Remember why you started in the sport and what made you fall in love with it in the first place." (swimsam.com, 26 Oct 2015) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | Afrikaans, English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Killa Cam, VDB (Facebook profile, 23 Apr 2013; swimswam.com, 15 Sep 2015) |
| Other information | RETIREMENT In December 2018 he announced his retirement from competitive swimming after winning a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2018 World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. "It is the last [100m breast]. It is sad, but I am happy to end on a high. The last 25 meters was the most pain I have ever had in my life in swimming, so it was a good way to finish. It is funny how these things turn out. At least I have no loose ends to tie up or reason to come back." (olympics.nbcsports.com, 12 Dec 2018) INTERNATIONAL FIRST He became the first man to earn four world championship medals in the 50m breaststroke when he won gold in the event at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. He had previously claimed gold in 2009, and bronze in both 2007 and 2011. He has since gone on to win a further two medals in the event at the world championships, finishing with silver in 2015 and another bronze in 2017. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Aug 2017) OTHER ACTIVITIES In September 2018 he began serving on the newly formed Swimming SA Athletes' Committee. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 05 Sep 2018) FURTHER EDUCATION He has also studied investment management at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, South Africa. (Facebook profile, 21 Dec 2016) |
| Injuries | He was troubled by a shoulder injury in 2014. (citizen.co.za, 01 Aug 2015) He broke his ankle at age 16. (goodtaste.co.za, 06 Jun 2017) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | London, ENG |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Olympic sports, football, rugby, current affairs, business, travel, cooking, fashion, public speaking. (Facebook page, 29 Jun 2018) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and used swimming as an outlet for his energy. |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His mother. (Facebook page, 03 Sep 2016) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He took up swimming at age 10. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Wife Nefeli |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | South African swimmer Penny Heyns. (iol.co.za, 23 Jun 2018) |