BROOKE'S LOOK AT ROMA 09 DAY FIVE
July 31: Aussies shone on day five at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome. Brooke Hanson reports...
Another seven world records were broken on day five of the championships, taking the overall tally to 29.
Two of those world records were set by Queenslanders, Jessicah Schipper in the 200m butterfly and Christian Sprenger in the 200m breaststroke.
The Stephan Widmer-coached pair had their day in the sun after both being the bridesmaids of their events over the past few years.
Schipper steamed home in her Adidas hydrofoil to win Australia's second gold medal in a new world record of 2.03.41. 
Training partner Sprenger surprised everyone, including himself, breaking the world record from lane seven in the semi-final of the 200m breaststroke (2.07.31).
Sprenger will have another chance to better his mark in tomorrow's final as he races for his first medal at a major international meet.
No one deserves it more than Sprenger; he's been the quiet achiever of men's breaststroke for the past four years.
In Australia, his performances have always been overshadowed by fellow competitor and 100m world champion and world record holder Brenton Rickard.
Today they swam side by side with Sprenger making his move over the final 15 metres to smash his previous personal best by almost four seconds.
There's a lot more to Sprenger than a new world record.
He's completed a diploma in Graphic Design and is currently studying Industrial Design at Queensland University of Technology.
Before swimming he played soccer for 12 years, he loves surfing and playing his guitar really loud.
His cousin Nic Sprenger swam at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and was a world champion with the Australian 4x200 freestyle relay.
Sprenger was an extra in the Australian movie Swimming Upstream and his specialty in the kitchen is bacon and eggs.
What inspires him to achieve his best is his drive to better himself as a person and a swimmer.
Sprenger made his Australian team debut in 2006 at the World Short Course Championships in Shanghai and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing he was the voice of the Australian swimming team song before going on to win a silver medal as a heat swimmer in the 4x100 medley relay and was 14th in the 100m breaststroke and 26th in the 200m breaststroke.
After returning home he decided against having a break from training as the Olympics had given him the experience and motivation he needed to improve at an international level.
Instead of enjoying a holiday he prepared himself for the Australian Short Course Championships and FINA World Cup tour. Sprenger won several gold medals throughout the World Cup series and found that the tough racing was the exact experience he needed to step up against the world's best breaststrokers.
Sprenger's favourite quote is ‘don't let anyone tell you, you're not good enough'.
It's been a tough road to the top but you can tell that this is just the beginning for the down to earth Aussie.