David Dickson (swimmer)
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men’s Swimming | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1960 Rome | 4x200 m freestyle relay | |
| Bronze | 1964 Tokyo | 4x100 m freestyle relay | |
| Bronze | 1964 Tokyo | 4x100 m medley relay | |
David Dickson (born February 20, 1941 in Batu Gajah, Malaysia) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won three bronze medals in freestyle and medley relay events at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Rome and Tokyo respectively.
Dickson was selected to make his international debut at Rome in the 4x200m freestyle relay, alongside individual gold medallists John Devitt, Murray Rose and John Konrads. The Australians finished behind the United States and Japan to claim the bronze medal.
At the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Dickson finished third in the 110yd freestyle, beaten by Dick Pound of Canada and Bobby McGregor of Scotland. However Dickson won gold in the 4x110yd freestyle relay (with Rose, Peter Doak and Peter Phelps) and the 4x110yd medley relay with Julian Carroll, Ian O'Brien and Kevin Berry, all of whom had won their respective individual events.
As he was the Australian 880yd freestyle champion. However, a last minute public appeal brought Rose back from the United State, where he was studying and competing in the US collegiate system. Wood was relegated to silver in the 440yd freestyle behind Rose and bronze in the 1650yd freestyle, behind Rose and Windle. Wood won a gold medal in the 4x220yd freestyle relay, alongside Windle, Rose and Anthony Strahan, setting a world record in the process.
Prior to the Tokyo Olympics, Dickson was sent on an international tour to compete, along with Berry, O'Brien and Bob Windle, in the hope that their honed racecraft would help them in Tokyo. The other three won gold in their respective events, but Dickson was eliminated in the semifinal of the 100m freestyle.
Along with John Ryan, Doak and Windle, Dickson won bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay. He complemented this with another bronze in the 4x100m medley relay, alongside Berry, O'Brien and Peter Reynolds. He narrowly missed a medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay, finishing fourth with Windle, Doak and Allan Wood.
Dickson was accorded the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica. He again took the bronze medal in the 110yd freestyle, won by fellow Australian Michael Wenden, and won gold in the both the 4x110yd and 4x220yd freestyle relays.
In 1989, Dickson was elected as the ACT's first representative on the board of the Australian Olympic Federation.
[edit] References
- Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games.
