David Dickson (swimmer)

David Dickson

Personal information
Full name	David Gavin Dickson
National team	Australia
Born	(1941-02-20) 20 February 1941 Batu Gajah, Malaysia
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Medal record Men's swimming Representing Australia Olympic Games 1960 Rome 4×200 m freestyle 1964 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle 1964 Tokyo 4×100 m medley

David Gavin Dickson (born 20 February 1941) is an Australian former freestyle swimmer 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.

1960 Summer Olympics

Dickson was selected to make his international debut at Rome in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. With John Konrads, Jon Henricks and Murray Rose, Dickson broke the world record on 6 August 1960, at the Tobruk Pool in Townsville, Queensland. However, in the Olympic final, swimming alongside individual gold medallists John Devitt, Murray Rose and John Konrads, Dickson finished third behind the United States and Japanese teams.

1962 Commonwealth Games

At the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Dickson finished third in the 110-yard freestyle, beaten by Dick Pound of Canada and Bobby McGregor of Scotland. However Dickson won gold in the 4×110-yard freestyle relay (with Rose, Peter Doak and Peter Phelps) and the 4×110-yard 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 880-yard freestyle champion. However, a last minute public appeal brought Rose back from the United States, where he was studying and competing in the US collegiate system. Wood was relegated to silver in the 440-yard freestyle behind Rose and bronze in the 1650-yard freestyle, behind Rose and Windle. Wood won a gold medal in the 4×220-yard 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 4×100-metre freestyle relay. He complemented this with another bronze in the 4×100-metre medley relay, alongside Berry, O'Brien and Peter Reynolds. He narrowly missed a medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay, finishing fourth with Windle, Doak and Allan Wood.

1966 Commonwealth games

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 110-yard freestyle, won by fellow Australian Michael Wenden, and won gold in the both the 4×110-yard and 4×220 yd freestyle relays.

Australian Olympic Committee

In 1989, Dickson was elected as the Australian Capital Territory's first representative on the board of the Australian Olympic Federation.

See also

• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay