Swimming · 1976 · Montreal, Canada
Wilkie Ends Britain's 68-Year Wait
A Scottish swimmer trained in the United States smashes the 200m breaststroke world record to give Britain its first male Olympic swimming gold in 68 years.
2:15.11 (world record)
Time
68 years
British men's swimming gold gap
over 3 seconds off own WR
Margin over Hencken
David Wilkie, born in Sri Lanka and trained collegiately in the United States, arrived at the 1976 Montreal Olympics as reigning world champion in the 200m breaststroke, chasing American rival John Hencken, who had beaten him narrowly in the 100m earlier in the Games.
In the 200m final, Wilkie swam a near-perfect race, breaking his own world record by more than three seconds to win gold in 2:15.11, comfortably clear of Hencken in second. It was the only men's swimming gold won by a non-American at those Games.
The win made Wilkie the first British man to win an Olympic swimming gold medal in 68 years, since 1908, and turned him into one of Britain's biggest sporting stars of the era. His world record stood for six years, and he remains one of the most celebrated Scottish Olympians in any sport.
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