Gary Abraham (born 8 January 1959) is an English former competitive

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 ...

Swimming career

Abraham represented Great Britain in the Olympics and FINA world championships, as well as England in the Commonwealth games, during the 1970s and early 1980s. Abraham was an Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games medallist. As a 17-year-old, Abraham represented Great Britain at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

in Montreal, Quebec. He competed in the 100-metre backstroke, and swam the backstroke leg for the British team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4x100-metre medley relay. Abraham represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

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 ...

, winning two

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

s in the 100-metre backstroke and the 4x100-metre medley relay. At the ASA National British Championships he won the 100 metres backstroke title six times (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981) and the 200 metres backstroke title in 1978. At the

in Moscow, he earned a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

by swimming the backstroke leg for the third-place British team in the 4×100-metre medley relay.David Wallechinsky, ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics: Sydney 2000 Edition'', p. 736. Overlook Press (2000). . He was the first swimmer to utilise the rule permitting swimmers to swim 15 metres underwater at the start of certain events. Abraham retired from competitive swimming in 1983. He currently coaches at

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Swimming Club.

Personal bests

; Long course (50 m) ; Short course (33m) ; Short course (25 m)

References

External links

* * 1959 births Living people Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming English male backstroke swimmers British male backstroke swimmers Miami Hurricanes men's swimmers British expatriate swimmers in the United States Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sportspeople from Southampton {{UK-swimming-Olympic-medalist-stub

Swimming career

Personal bests

See also

References

External links