In 1996 Penny Heyns became South Africa’s first post-apartheid Olympic gold medallist when she won both the 100m and 200m breaststroke in Atlanta. She remains the only woman in history to have won both of those events at the same Games, making her, along with Australian Leisel Jones, one of the greatest breaststroke swimmers in history.

Heyns was also a serial record breaker – she set new world records in the process of winning her two gold medals. In 1999, she set a spate of 11 world records in three months, swimming at events on three different continents. This made her the simultaneous holder of five out of the possible six breaststroke world records, a feat that had never been achieved before in the history of swimming.