Yes, says the Sydney Morning Herald. And Yahoo! Sports.
And apparently - yes, says Van der Burgh himself.
But the South African isn't sorry, and isn't giving back the gold he won on Sunday, July 29 for the 100-meter breaststroke race.
FINA, the international body that sets the rules for aquatic events, allows breaststroke swimmers to make one - and only one - dolphin kick when they push off the wall. Media camera recordings show that Van der Burgh won the race after performing three.
When the Australian newspaper asked him about it, he was matter-of-fact in copping to it, saying he routinely does it because everybody else does.
''If you're not doing it, you're falling behind. It's not obviously - shall we say - the moral thing to do, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my personal performance and four years of hard work for someone that is willing to do it and get away with it,'' he said. ''It's got to the sort of point where if you're not doing it you're falling behind or your giving yourself a disadvantage so everyone's pushing the rules and pushing the boundaries, so if you're not doing it, you're not trying hard enough.''
The South African probably doesn't have to fear losing his medal, since FINA does not have any underwater camera review. If and when they finally implement it, Van der Burgh says they will have his full support.
"I think only if you can bring in underwater footage that's when everybody will stop doing it because that's when you'll have peace of mind to say, 'All right I don't need to do it because everybody else is doing it and it's a fair playing field,'" he told the Australian paper. "I'm really for it. If they can bring it, it will better the sport. But I'm not willing to lose to someone that is doing it.''
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