Coming from Brisbane, Queensland, Sprenger who is coached by Michael Bohl spent the beginning of his career as the understudy of fellow Australians Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett.

After finishing third in the 200-metre freestyle at the 2003 Australian Championships, Sprenger was selected to make his debut at the age of 18 at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, where he was a part of the 4×200-metre freestyle relay team which won gold ahead of the United States team.

In 2005, with Thorpe taking a year off, Sprenger assumed the number 2 middle-distance swimmer role behind Hackett.

In 2006, with Australian captain Hackett sidelined with by a shoulder operation, Sprenger appeared likely to have another opportunity to establish himself as a world-class swimmer.

However, at the Olympics, Sprenger was eliminated in the semifinals and was then dropped from the relay team, competing in neither the heats nor finals.