August 14, 2008 12:07pm

Brenton Rickard won a surprise silver medal with a superb swim in the 200m breaststroke final at the Beijing Olympics.
AUSTRALIA'S Brenton Rickard won a surprise silver medal with a superb swim in the men's 200m breaststroke final.
The fifth-fastest qualifier into the final, Rickard went hard from the gun and was in a medal position all the way.

Japan's Kosuke Kitajima won the gold medal in 2min 07.64sec, an Olympic record.

Rickard broke the Australian record, swimming 2:08.88. He came under severe pressure down the last 50m but kept his cool, out-touching two other rivals on his glide.

"I couldn't have taken another stroke,'' Rickard said.

"My heart was in my mouth. To see second next to my name was fantastic. I'm just so happy.

"I did a PB when it mattered most."

Hugues Duboscq of France, the 100m breaststroke bronze medallist, finished third again.