Victor Davis

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Men’s Swimming
Olympic medalist
[[Image:\|Center\|100px]] Victor Davis
Medal record
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	200 m Breaststroke
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	100 m Breaststroke
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	4x100 m Medley Relay
Silver	1988 Seoul	4x100 m Medley Relay

Victor Davis, CM (February 10, 1964–November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and World champion swimmer. He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and died in Montreal, Quebec.

As a boy, Davis learned how to swim in the lakes in the area around his home then joined the Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club at the age of 12. A dedicated sportsman, he had a passion to win that saw him become one of Canada's most prominent international swimming stars and the greatest breaststroke swimmer Canada had ever produced. During his career, Davis held several world records as the winner of 29 national titles and 16 medals in international competition. At the 1982 world championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he set his first world record while winning the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, he won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke event then captured the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke, in the process establishing another world record. In recognition of his accomplishments, Victor Davis was named Swimming Canada's Athlete of the Year three times and the Canadian government made him a member of the Order of Canada. A star of Canada's national swim team for nine years, he retired from competitive swimming in July of 1989. He was voted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

1 Death
2 His Legacy
3 Victor Davis the movie
4 Career highlights
5 Internal Links
6 External links

[edit] Death

Only a few months after his retirement, on November 11, 1989 while outside a nightclub in the Montreal suburb of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Victor Davis was struck by an automobile whose driver fled the scene. Two days later, the 25 year-old died of his injuries in hospital.

[edit] His Legacy

Victors parents fulfilled his express wish that his organs be donated to help save the lives of others. The swimmer's heart, liver, kidneys and two cornea were harvested for successful transplant.

Each year since his passing, awards are made by The Victor Davis Memorial Fund to help young Canadian swimmers continue their education while training in pursuit of excellence at the international level of competition. To date more than 55 athletes have benefited since its creation.

[edit] Victor Davis the movie

Victor's remarkable life, death and legacy will be remembered in Victor: The Victor Davis Story, a two-hour movie to be telecast this Fall on CBC television. The film was written by and stars in the title role former Pointe Claire, Que., swimmer Mark Lutz. For more information about the film, click Official Victor Davis Movie Site

[edit] Career highlights

1982 World Championships - Guayaquil, Ecuador
Gold Medal – 200 m Breaststroke (sets World Record at 2:14.77)
(broke the record of 2:15.11 set by David Wilke in 1976)
Silver Medal – 100 m Breaststroke

1982 Commonwealth Games – Brisbane, Australia
Gold Medal – 200 m Breaststroke
Silver Medal - 100 m Breaststroke

1984 Canadian Olympic Trials - Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
In winning the 200 m Breaststroke, broke his own World Record with a time of 2:14.58
(broke his own record of 2:14.77 set in 1982)

1984 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, United States
Gold Medal - 200 m Breaststroke (sets World Record at 2:13.34)
(broke his own record of 2:14.58 set in June 1984)
Silver Medal - 100 m Breaststroke
Silver Medal - 4x100 m Medley Relay

1986 Commonwealth Games – Edinburgh, Scotland
Gold Medal - 4x100 m Medley Relay
Gold Medal - 100 m Breaststroke
Silver Medal - 200 m Breaststroke

1986 World Championships – Madrid, Spain
Gold Medal - 100 m Breaststroke
Silver Medal - 200 m Breaststroke

1988 Summer Olympics – Seoul, South Korea
Silver Medal - 4x100 m Medley Relay (1.00.90 split)
Fourth place - 100 m Breaststroke (1.02.38)

Canadian National Championships (including separate trials meets)
17-time National Champion 100 m Breaststroke
14-time National Champion 200 m Breaststroke
2-time National Champion 200 m Butterfly
2-time National Champion 200 m Individual Medley
1 National Championship 400 m Individual Medley