RICKARD BREAKS AUSSIES DROUGHT

BEIJING, CHINA, August  14: Brenton Rickard has become the first Australian man to win an Olympic breaststroke medal in 16 years by grabbing silver in the 200 metres at the National Aquatics Centre.

Phil Rogers won bronze in the 100m in 1992 but until Rickard clocked a personal best of 2:08.88 to finish second, the cupboard had been bare. DAVID LYALL AOC REPORTS...

Kosuke Kitajima (2:07.64) won the race, completing back to back Olympic breaststroke doubles after he conquered the world at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games four years ago.

It has been a fairytale Olympic debut for Rickard, the silver medal topping his fifth placing in the 100m breaststroke earlier in the week.

Four years ago the popular AIS-based quiet achiever had gone into the Australian Olympic trials as the national record holder and favourite in the 100m breaststroke. He over raced his first 50m in the final of that trial, finishing fourth and blowing his Olympic dream.

That heartbreak took some time to recover from but Rickard got tough, worked harder and started to believe in himself. He began winning international medals - four at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and three more at the 2007 FINA World Championships - and his Olympic dream again caught fire.

After today's triumph Rickard said his experience in 2004 had helped him prepare for his shot at redemption.

"Obviously four years ago was a disappointment that'll stay with me for a long time but at the same time it makes it all worthwhile when you can get back four years later and get yourself a silver medal," Rickard said.

"It's an event that I'll be very proud of and hopefully will put me in good stead for the future as well."

Rickard paid tribute to his veteran coach Vince Raleigh who showed faith in his charge's ability after the 2004 setback, pushing him to give equal effort to the 100 and 200m. The swimmer knew what Raleigh would say when they met to celebrate the medal.

"I'm pretty sure he'll tell me ‘I told you so!' because he's been telling me I'd do a good 200 [metres] some time in my life so I guess he was right there," he said.

"He's put a lot of hard work into making me a good 200m swimmer and it's paid off more than anyone could have hoped."

Rickard will swim in Australia's 4x4x100m medley relay later in the week.