David Wilkie: Scottish 1976 Montreal Olympic swimming champion dies, aged 70
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Published 22/05/2024 at 17:00 GMT
David Wilkie has died at the age of 70. The Scot was a record-breaking swimmer during a sensational career in the pool from 1969 to 1976. He won three World Championship titles, a pair of European and Commonwealth golds, as well as the 200m breaststroke race at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. His family say he passed away "peacefully" following a "brave battle with cancer".
David Wilkie, Olympic Champion, 200 metre breaststroke, Montreal Olympics, Canada, July 1976. Pictured in Montreal with Gold medal and Silver medal he later won in 100 metre breaststroke
Image credit: Getty Images
Tributes are pouring in for British swimmer David Wilkie, who has died at the age of 70.
The Scot enjoyed a glittering seven-year career, which peaked in 1976, when he won 200m breaststroke gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
He retired just weeks after the event, in which he broke the world record by over three seconds.
A statement said: "It is with great sadness that the family of David Wilkie MBE announce that he died peacefully surrounded by his family this morning, following his brave battle with cancer."
Wilkie was born in Sri Lanka in 1954, where his parents, both born in Aberdeen, were stationed.
He returned to Scotland at the age of 11, and just four years later was representing his country in the pool.
A runner-up at the Munich Olympics in 1972, his first major success came in winning gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1973 World Championship in Belgrade, which started a phenomenal run in the event.
He went unbeaten over the distance for a staggering four years, which encompassed the European Championships and Commonwealth Games in 1974, a further World Championship twelve months later, and then the Olympics in 1976.
In Montreal, he also came second in the 100m breaststroke.
British swimmer Sharron Davies, who was a team-mate of Wilkie's in Montreal, described him as "an inspiration."
She wrote on X: "I am so sad to hear of the loss of Olympic champion superstar breaststroker, my first crush & definitely an inspiration, proud Scotsman David Wilkie who died earlier today, sleep tight old friend."
Wilkie's achievements in the pool led to him being named Sports Personality of the Year in 1975, before being International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1982.
He was also awarded an MBE in 1977.
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