Swimming's golden boy, Olympic gold medallist and world 50 metre-butterfly champion, Roland Schoeman, looked the picture of health in Durban on Saturday.
You wouldn't think that he suffers from asthma, a breathing disorder that affects 300 million people worldwide and one in 10 South Africans - or that an asthma inhaler is part of his life.
In the city to speak to delegates at the congress of the Allergy Society of South Africa, Schoeman was taking a break from a demanding practice schedule of nine workouts a week before heading off to America on September 6.
He was also spreading the message that it is possible to lead an active and even record-breaking life with asthma - provided it is correctly diagnosed and treated.
"It is only in the past year that my asthma has been managed with the correct medication," he said. "Looking back, I realise that it was bad. At the Olympics I was asked by a doctor to do a special lung test and was told that my lung function was 68 percent down during an attack."
Back in South Africa Schoeman consulted a pulmonologist who said he was being under-treated and put him on long-acting broncodilator and anti-inflammatory treatment specifically for asthma.
"The difference has been amazing," said Schoeman. "For the past year I have been asthma free."
Schoeman said his medication was approved by the International Olympics Committee so there was no risk of him falling foul of drug regulations.
Schoeman's asthma was diagnosed at the age of six after repeated activity-induced asthma attacks and he'd been devastated by the diagnosis.
But it proved to be fortuitous when a doctor told him to swim regularly to improve his lung function.
Throughout his childhood in Pretoria, Schoeman was plagued by asthma attacks but kept his airways functioning with the aid of an inhaler (a broncodilator).
"I played all sports at school," he said, "but swimming was never my first love.
"At the age of 16 I joined a swimming club to see more of a girl I liked - but she moved to the coast with her parents," recalls Schoeman.
However, swimming authorities had identified a talent to be nurtured and his swimming career had begun. In 1998 he attracted overseas attention and in 1999 moved to the University of Arizona on a swimming scholarship.
The rest is history, with a string of achievements in swimming, a haul of three medals at the Olympics and breaking the world record in the men's 50-metre butterfly event at the World Swimming Championships in Montreal.
Since going public about his asthma and becoming the national spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline's asthma awareness campaign, Schoeman has been inundated with emails from people asking what treatment he's on in the hopes of getting similar relief.
"Treatment must be tailored to the individual. Asthma sufferers need to see a pulmonologist so the correct treatment can be prescribed. For years I lived with asthma attacks and knew no better, but it was when I got the correct advice that my health improved dramatically."
Dr Navin Singh, medical director of GlaxoSmithKline, manufacturers of asthma medication, said: "Here is a world beater who has controlled his symptoms totally. Our aim is to enable people to do more, feel better and live longer and Roland is proof it can be done."
In an audit of asthma mortality, South Africa was ranked fifth in the world, said Singh.
"The world over, asthma is under diagnosed and under treated and Roland is a classic example of a patient not being assessed properly. People can lose 50 percent of their lung function without even knowing it, if it is not measured."
Prof Elvis Irusen, head of the Lung Unit at the University of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg Academic Hospital, said asthma was a more subtle disease than other chronic disorders where symptoms were easier to measure.
"At the core of complete control of asthma is the control of airway inflammation and as we cannot see or measure this, it is difficult to be certain that the inflammation be resolved.
"But, with improved drugs we have the potential to render patients normal."
- Asthma is not a disease or infection, but a chronic condition that affects the airways or bronchi of the lungs.
- The cause is not known but factors may include genetics, the development and growth of the lungs and immune system, infections and exposures in the environment.
- Types of asthma are mild or frequent episodic asthma, chronic asthma, nocturnal asthma and exercise-induced asthma.
- Symptoms include cough, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath - day and night.
- Known irritants and triggers include pollen, dust or preservatives, environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke or industrial pollution, pets, cold weather, viruses, changes in breathing from stress or emotional responses, gastro-oesophageal reflux, hormonal changes or exercise. Exercise does not cause asthma, but can trigger symptoms in an uncontrolled asthmatic.
- Asthma cannot be cured, but can be totally controlled by proper management.