David Wilkie - A Pioneer Of The Swimming Gear

It's been a year since David Wilkie MBE, one of the legendary 'Hall of Fame' Swimmers who has the rare feat of holding British, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic swimming titles at the same time, passed away from Cancer at the age of 70.

His journey in life began in Colombo, Ceylon in the year 1954, having being born to Scottish parents and learning to swim at the Colombo Swimming Club. He finally moved to Edinburgh at the age of 11, but he held the Ceylon Junior National records for his age groups, showcasing his immense potential that was yet to be seen on the world stage.

The Gold in Montreal 1976

By the age of 18, he was already an Olympic swimmer in 1972, but his first major medal came in 1970 in front of his home folk at the Commonwealth Games. The 16 year old prodigy from Edinburgh broke his own British record to secure the Bronze medal at the 200m Breast Stroke.

Though he did not win any medal in the 1972 Games, he produced the result of his life where he broke the World Record by 3 seconds in the 200m Breast Stroke at the 1976 Games and won the first swimming Gold medal for Great Britain after 16 years!

Having remained unbeaten from 1972 to 1976 in the 200m Breast Stroke, coupled with medals at the European competitions, the NCAA as he was at the University of Miami, he won the British Sports Personality in 1975 and was awarded the title of MBE in 1977 for his service to sports. In 1982, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

The Swimming Cap And Goggles

What was previously not mentioned about his Bronze medal win in 1970 was that he very distinctively wore the swimming cap and goggles in his event, to enhance the streamline effect by covering his long hair and also avoid the Chlorine in his eyes due to an allergy. This was the first time a swimmer wore the cap and goggles at an elite-level competition!

David Wilkie - the pioneer of the cap and goggles at competitions

At present, you'll never see anyone, not even at the school level swimmers without the cap and goggles. David Wilkie may not have seen this coming, but certainly would have been proud to have introduced an effective way to compete better.

Post Retirement With Pet Food

Apart from his swimming achievements, David was also a successful businessman, founding Health Perception (UK) Ltd. in 1986 with his wife and in 2009, he sold it for a whopping £7.8 Million. But he did not stop there, as he co-founded Pet's Kitchen, later rebranded as Vet's Kitchen as a niche product in the pet food industry.

The journey from Olympian to Millionare

Unfortunately, Cancer had the last say in his life as he passed away on the 22nd of May last year, aged 70. Having lived his life as a pioneering swimmer turned businessman, it would only be appropriate to remember his legacy the next time you take a plunge in a pool with a pair of goggles or a swimming cap.