BARCELONA, Spain, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Christian Sprenger won on Monday gold medal in men's 100 meters breaststroke at the Palau Sant Jordi of Barcelona, where the World Championships are being held until August 4.

Sprenger finished the race in 58:79, followed by South Africa's Cameron Van Der Burgh who took silver in 58:97. Meanwhile, Brazil' s Felipe Lima took bronze medal in 59:65.

World record holder Van Der Burgh was favorite to win gold medal, but he suffered an injury in July and has been relegated to the second place.

Swimming competition is being held at the Palau Sant Jordi of Barcelona, where a total of 1,144 swimmers are competing in all swimming disciplines.