David Holmes "Dave" Edgar (born March 27, 1950) is an American former

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, 1972 Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. In a period of seven years, he lost only one 50-yard race, due to a faulty starting block. Excelling in the efficiency of his flip turn technique under the mentorship of Coach Ray Bussard at the University of Tennessee, many consider Edgar one of the greatest short course 50 and 100-yard sprinters of the 1970s.

Early swimming

Edgar began his swimming career in earnest under Hall of Fame Coach Jack Nelson at the Ft. Lauderdale Swim Club, and while swimming at Ft. Lauderdale High School under Coach John Wienants set a national high school record of 21.2 seconds for the 50-yard freestyle. As Captain of the Fort Lauderdale High School Swim Team, he was undefeated in the 50-yard freestyle his Senior year and was recruited by Tennessee to receive a swimming scholarship. He was a High School All-American in the 1967 season, and held the Junior Olympic 50-meter long course record of 24.6."L's David Edgar Pens Scholarship With Vols", ''Fort Lauderdale News'', Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 7 April 1968, pg. 54 Edgar officially set records of a 21.5 in the 50 freestyle, which he would improve upon, and a 49.1 in the 100 freestyle at the Southeastern Swimming Championships at the Emory Pool in Atlanta on February 3, 1968.

U. of Tennessee

Edgar attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

under Hall of Fame Coach Ray Bussard beginning in the Fall of 1968, where he swam for the

Tennessee Volunteers swimming and diving The Tennessee Volunteers men's Swimming and Diving program represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Volunteers, Volunteers are currently coached by Matt Kredich. The Vols host their swim meets in the ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

competition. Teamed with another exceptional freestyler and future Tennessee Coach John Trembley, Tennessee was highly competitive during Edgar's swimming years.Gribble, Andrew, "Trembley", ''The Knoxville News Sentinel'', Knoxville, Tennessee, 15 January 2012, pg. 30 Edgar won seven NCAA championships while swimming for the Volunteers, and was named the "Fastest Man Afloat" by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine. His mastery of the Tennessee Turn, a flip turn carefully styled by Tennessee Coach Bussard helped reduce Edgar's sprint times and led to his becoming the first competitive swimmer to record times under 45 seconds for the 100-yard freestyle. He won one of his other signature events, the 100-yard indoor freestyle at the 1970 National AAU meet, and captured a first in the same event at the NCAA for his University of Tennessee Volunteers in 1970, 1971, and 1972, often defeating Mark Spitz.

International competition highlights

1972 Olympics

At the 1972 Olympic Trials, he finished fourth in the 100 meter freestyle, missing selection, but placed second in the 100 butterfly, though he was not expected to qualify in the event, and was selected for the 4x100 meter freestyle relay. Travelling with the team, he represented the United States at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich, Germany, receiving a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, setting a time of 3:26.42, while swimming with the team of John Murphy, Jerry Heidenreich, Mark Spitz, Dave Fairbank, and Gary Conelly. He received another gold medal in 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the

1971 Pan American Games The 1971 Pan American Games, officially known as the VI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Cali 1971, were held in Cali, Colombia, from 30 July to 13 August 1971. (One source dates the Games from July 25 to August 8.) A total of 2,935 ...

in Cali, Colombia with the team of

Steve Genter Robert Steven Genter (born January 4, 1951) is an American former competition swimming (sport), swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist. He was a freestyle swimming, freestyle specialist who earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. t ...

Jerry Heidenreich Jerome Alan Heidenreich (February 4, 1950 – April 18, 2002) was an American competition swimmer for Southern Methodist University, a 1972 Munich Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder. He set six world records during his swimming ...

, and the non-Olympian Frank Heckl. He set two world records during his career, both in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Besides his Olympic gold, he was on a winning 4×100 metre freestyle relay team (with Steve Genter, Jerry Heidenreich, and the non-Olympian Frank Heckl) at the 1971 Pan American Games. In 1998, he was the married father of three children, and working as a businessman and life insurance agent in Fort Lauderdale."David Edgar, Swimming", ''The Tennessean'', Nashville, Tennessee, 21 July 1996, pg. 34 Edgar was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1996.

References

External links