Liam Tancock (born 7 May 1985 in Exeter, England) is an English backstroke swimmer who specializes in the 50 m and 100 m events. He began his swimming career at Exeter City Swimming Club in Devon and continued at Loughborough University where he studied sports science. On 2 April 2008, he set a new world 50 m backstroke record of 24.47 seconds at the British Olympic trials at the Ponds Forge pool, Sheffield. On 1 August 2009 he set a new world 50 m backstroke record of 24.08 in the semifinal at the 2009 Rome World Aquatics Championships and the following day he won the gold medal beating again the world record with 24.04.