In April 2008, Liam Tancock became the first British world record holder in swimming for 18 years, breaking the existing 50m backstroke record by almost half a second, and has since beaten that record twice.

Desperate to learn to swim after watching his older brother, Tancock learned to swim at a young age and moved through the ranks at Exeter Swimming Club. While his friends were enjoying themselves, Tancock was training at six o'clock in the morning and from the age of 10 began to travel around the country competing.

In 2001 he made his international debut at the Six Nations Junior Short Course, winning bronze in the 50m and 100m backstroke. The same year he went on to win gold in the European Youth Olympics in 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley.

The following year he upgraded his Six Nations bronze medals into silver, and in 2003 he became Junior European Champion in the 50m backstroke in Glasgow. The same year he made the move from his home in Devon to Loughborough to study Sports Science,and linked up with coach Ben Titley.

Tancock made his senior international debut in 2005, winning bronze in the World Championships in Canada, before winning gold in the World Student Games in Turkey, before topping off an impressive debut year with three bronze medals at the European Championships.

In March 2006, he became Commonwealth champion in the 100m backstroke, as well as picking up two silver medals in his stronger event, the 50m backstroke and the 4x100m medley relay. However, his season suffered a major setback when he was kept out of the pool for a month after breaking his arm after falling down the stairs. He looked set to miss the European Championships in Budapest in August, but he recovered in time and managed an impressive fourth place in the 100m backstroke.

At the 2007 world championships in Melbourne he picked up two bronze medals, and the year he picked up four medals, gold in the 100m backstroke, two silvers in the 50m backstroke and and 200m individual medley and bronze in the 100m individual medlay event.

At his first Olympics in Beijing, aged 22, Tancock qualified for the 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley finals, finishing sixth and eight respectively. Then, at the World Championships in Rome he became world champion, this time in the 50m backstroke, setting a new world record in the process. 24.04

Career high
Storming to the 50m gold medal in the world championships in Rome in August 2009, breaking his own world record that he set in his semi-final. Afterwards he described the race as "pretty perfect".

Career low
Just a month after being crowned Commonwealth champion, Tancock fell down the stairs and broke his right wrist, forcing him to miss training for six weeks while his arm was in a cast.

Quotes
"To be called world champion and world record holder in the same sentence is pretty impressive."

"I want someone like Phelps in Britain. People like him and Ian Thorpe inspire the next generation and there's no reason we can't produce someone of that quality. Swimming is a sexy sport, but it's only looked at once every four years."

Trivia
Tancock's girlfriend is GB swimmer and training partner Caitlin McClatchey.