David Gavin Dickson (born 20 February 1941) is an Australian

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

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 ...

who won three bronze medals in freestyle and medley relay events at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

and the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

in Rome and Tokyo respectively.

Swimming career

Dickson was born in Malaya, where his father was stationed during World War II. He was three months old when he arrived in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. His schooling years were spent in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

and Bunbury. Dickson was a member of the Bunbury Swimming Club.

Australian Championships

* 110 yd freestyle - first in 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965 * 220 yd freestyle - first in 1965

Summer Olympics

Dickson was selected to make his international debut at the 1960 Rome Olympics in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. With

John Konrads John Konrads (; 21 May 1942 – 25 April 2021) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimmi ...

Jon Henricks John Malcolm Henricks (born 6 June 1935) is an Australian Olympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Henricks set world records in two freestyle events. Career Henricks began his competitive swimming ca ...

and

Murray Rose Iain Murray Rose, (6 January 1939 – 15 April 2012) was an Australian swimmer, who swam for the University of Southern California, and worked as an actor, sports commentator and marketing executive. He was a six-time Olympic medalist (four g ...

, Dickson broke the world record on 6 August 1960, at the Tobruk Pool in

Townsville, Queensland The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. However, in the Olympic final, swimming alongside individual gold medallists

John Devitt John Thomas Devitt, Order of Australia, AM (4 February 1937 – 17 August 2023) was an Australian sprint Freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics ...

and

, Dickson finished third behind the United States and Japanese teams. Prior to the Tokyo Olympics, Dickson was sent on an international tour to compete, along with Berry, O'Brien and

Bob Windle Robert George Windle (born 7 November 1944) is an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won four Olympic medals, including an individual gold medal. Windle won the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m ...

, 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 Allan Frederick Wood (16 May 1943 – 10 October 2022) was an Australian freestyle swimmer, who won bronze medals in the 400-metre and 1500-metre freestyle events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He spent his entire career in the shadow ...

. He finished ninth in the 100-metre freestyle.

British Empire and Commonwealth Games

At the

1962 Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

in Perth, Dickson finished third in the 110-yard freestyle, beaten by

Dick Pound Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming champion, lawyer, and spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and vice-president ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Bobby McGregor Robert Bilsand McGregor, MBE (born 3 April 1944), nicknamed the "Falkirk Flyer", is a Scottish former competitive swimmer. Swimming career He competed in eight events at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 100-metr ...

of Scotland. However, Dickson won gold in the 4×110-yard freestyle relay (with Rose, Peter Doak and

Peter Phelps Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' Son ...

) and the 4×110-yard medley relay with

Julian Carroll Julian Morton Carroll (April 16, 1931 – December 10, 2023) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 54th governor of Kentucky from 1974 to 1979, succeeding Wendell F ...

Ian O'Brien Ian Lovett O'Brien (born 3 March 1947) is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1960s who won the Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke, 200 metre breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in wo ...

and

Kevin Berry Kevin John Berry Order of Australia, OAM (10 April 1945 – 7 December 2006) was an Australian Butterfly swimming, butterfly swimmer of the 1960s who won the gold medal in the 200-metre butterfly at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He set twe ...

, all of whom had won their respective individual events. Dickson was accorded the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the

1966 Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

in Kingston, Jamaica. He again took the bronze medal in the 110-yard freestyle, won by fellow Australian

Michael Wenden Michael Vincent Wenden, (born 17 November 1949) is a champion swimmer who represented Australia in the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1968 he won four medals: gold in both the 100- and 200-metre freestyle (setting world reco ...

, and won gold in both the 4×110-yard and 4×220 yd freestyle relays.

Australian Olympic Committee

In 1989, Dickson was elected as the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

's first representative on the board of the

Australian Olympic Federation The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...

. He was a member of the 1996 Melbourne Olympic Games Bid. In 1993, Dickson became an inaugural life of the ACT Olympic Council.

Employment

Dickson started as a journalist with the ABC in Perth and then became Channel Nine Perth's first sports director. He then spent 14 years in Europe including operating an import-export business in the South of France and then being appointed the Head Coach for French Swimming. In 1980, Dickson was appointed the inaugural Manager of the National Sports Centre in Canberra that became the home of the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

. He was the permanent Australian Capital Territory Tourism Commissioner from 1985 to 1988. In 1980, Dickson was appointed the inaugural Manager of the National Sports Centre in Canberra that was to become the home of the

. He was the permanent Australian Capital Territory Tourism Commissioner from 1985 to 1988.

Recognition

* Swimming Western Australia Sir Frank Beaurepaire Memorial Trophy in 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62 and 1964/65. *

Western Australian Sports Star of the Year The Western Australian Sports Star Award, currently presented at the SportWest Awards, is an annual award for sportspeople from the Australian state of Western Australia and/or playing for teams based in Western Australia. It has been running sinc ...

in 1961, 1963 and 1966 *

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

in 2000 * Swimming Western Australia Hall of Fame in 2008 * Western Australian South West Hall of Fame

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, David 1941 births Living people Sportspeople from Perak Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Australia World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Australian male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Swimmers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming 20th-century Australian sportsmen Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games