David Wilkie (swimmer) facts for kids
.jpg)
Wilkie in 1974
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 8 March 1954 Colombo, Ceylon |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 22 May 2024 (aged 70) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Medley, breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Warrender Baths Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Miami (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Bill Diaz University of Miami |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David Andrew Wilkie (born March 8, 1954 – died May 22, 2024) was an amazing Scottish swimmer. He became an Olympic champion in 1976, winning the 200-meter breaststroke. He was the first British swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal since 1960.
David Wilkie is the only person ever to hold British, Commonwealth, European, World, and Olympic swimming titles at the same time. He is a member of both the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Many people describe him as Scotland's greatest and Britain's finest swimmer.
Contents
David Wilkie's Early Life
David Wilkie's parents were from Aberdeen, Scotland. However, they were living in Colombo, Ceylon, when David was born on March 8, 1954. His family often went to the open-air Colombo Swimming Club. This is where David first learned to swim.
When he was 11 years old, his parents sent him back to Scotland. He became a boarding school student at Daniel Stewart's College in Edinburgh. While there, he joined the Warrender Baths Club. This is one of Scotland's most successful swimming clubs.
At this club, David started to train very hard. He developed his special stroke, the breaststroke. His coach, Frank Thomas, helped him a lot. David said Frank Thomas gave him the drive to become a world-class swimmer. In 1969, David was chosen for an elite training group called the Scottish Training Squad.
Becoming a Champion Swimmer
In 1969, David Wilkie swam for Britain for the first time in an international competition. He competed against Nikolai Pankin, who held the world record for the 200-meter breaststroke from Russia.
In July 1970, David broke the British record for the 200-meter breaststroke. This happened during an international match against Denmark. Later that year, he won a bronze medal at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. He broke his own British record again in front of his home crowd. For this event, he wore a swim cap. This made him the first top swimmer to wear one in a major competition.
The Scottish Amateur Swimming Association gave David two awards in 1970. He received the Nancy Riach Memorial Medal and the Junior Swimmer of the Year award. It was the first time one person had won both awards in the same year. David continued to win the Nancy Riach award every year from 1972 to 1976.
In 1972, David won five events at the Scottish national championships. His big breakthrough came when he won a silver medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He set a new European record time of 2:23:67 in the 200-meter breaststroke. This was amazing because he was only ranked 25th in the world before the Olympics. He also broke Scottish records for the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley.
Starting in 1973, David Wilkie moved to the United States to study and swim. He won the World Championship for the 200-meter breaststroke in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He also broke the world record there.
At the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, he won two gold medals. One was for the 200-meter breaststroke and the other for the 200-meter individual medley. He also won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. In 1974, at the European Championships in Vienna, Austria, he won a gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley. He set a new world record for that event. He also won gold for the 200-meter breaststroke and a silver medal as part of the British 4x100-meter medley relay team. From 1972 to 1976, David was unbeatable in 200-meter breaststroke races.
Winning Olympic Gold
David Wilkie trained even harder for several years. He was studying at the University of Miami on a sports scholarship. He also competed for the university's Miami Hurricanes swimming and diving team. His greatest moment came at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
He won a gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. He set a new world record time of 2:15:11. His win stopped American swimmers from winning all the men's swimming gold medals. He also won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:03:43. His 200-meter breaststroke world record lasted for six years.
While at Miami, David won three US National Championships and three US college championships. He was also named an All-American four times. In 1987, he was added to the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. His head swimming coach there was Bill Diaz.
David was named European Swimmer of the Year three times. In 1975, he was British Sports Personality of the Year. In 1977, he was given the title Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In 1982, he was added to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.
After Competitive Swimming
After he stopped competing, David Wilkie stayed involved in swimming. He worked with swimming aids and new technology. He was known as the first swimmer to wear both a head-cap and goggles together in a race. This helped him move more smoothly through the water. He also said he wore goggles because he was allergic to chlorine. The cap helped keep his long hair tidy.
In 1986, David Wilkie helped start a healthcare company called Health Perception (UK) Ltd. He met his partner, Helen Isacson, in 1985. They had two children, Natasha and Adam. In 2009, he helped create Pet's Kitchen, a company that sells pet food to supermarkets.
David Wilkie passed away from cancer on May 22, 2024, at the age of 70.
Images for kids
-
Wilkie in 1974
See also
- List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 200 metres breaststroke
- World record progression 200 metres individual medley
