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David Andrew Wilkie MBE (born 8 March 1954) is a Scottish former swimmer, who was Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion in the 1970s.
Wilkie broke the British record for the 200 metres breastroke in an international match against Denmark in July 1970. He then won a bronze medal in front of his home crowd in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in the 200 metre breaststroke breaking his own British record again. He wore a swim cap for that event during the commonwealth games, making him the first elite swimmer to wear one in a major competition.
At the Scottish national long course championships in 1972, Wilkie won fi
David Andrew Wilkie MBE (born 8 March 1954) is a Scottish former swimmer, who was Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion in the 1970s.
Wilkie broke the British record for the 200 metres breastroke in an international match against Denmark in July 1970. He then won a bronze medal in front of his home crowd in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in the 200 metre breaststroke breaking his own British record again. He wore a swim cap for that event during the commonwealth games, making him the first elite swimmer to wear one in a major competition.
At the Scottish national long course championships in 1972, Wilkie won five events. However Wilkie's world breakthrough came when he won silver in the 200m breaststroke at the Munich Olympics in 1972 in a European record time in spite of being ranked only 25th in the World. He also broke the Scottish record times for the 100 metres breaststroke and the 200 metres individual medley.
In 1973 Wilkie won the World Championship for 200 metres breaststroke in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and broke the world record.
In the 1974 Commonwealth Games, in Christchurch, New Zealand, he won a gold in the 200 metre breaststroke, a further gold in the 200 m individual medley and a silver in the 100 metre breaststroke.
Also in 1974 at the European Championships in Vienna, Austria, he won a gold in the 200 metres individual medley in a world record time. He also won gold for the 200 metres breaststroke and silver as part of the British 4x100 medley relay team.
From 1972 to 1976 he was unbeaten in 200 metres breaststroke races.
He won gold in the 200 metre breaststroke at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 in a world-record time and preventing an American Sweep of the Men's swimming gold medals. He also added a 100 metre silver medal to his collection.
While studying with a swimming scholarship at the University of Miami, Wilkie won three AAU National US Championships and three NCAA US College Championships, was four times All-American and was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.
He is the only person to have held British, American, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic swimming titles at the same time and was the first British swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal in 68 years.
He was European Swimmer if the Year three times, British Sports Personality of the Year in 1975, he was appointed MBE in 1977, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1982 and was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
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