Victor Nicolas Davis, CM (February 10, 1964 – November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and world champion

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 specialized in the

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

. He also enjoyed success in the individual medley and the

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

Biography

Victor Davis was born in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. As a boy, Davis learned how to swim in the lakes around his home. He then joined the Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club at the age of 12. During his career, Davis held several world records as the winner of 31 national titles and 16 medals in international competition. At the 1982 world championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he set his first world record while winning the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke. At the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

in Los Angeles, California, he won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke event, then captured the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke, in the process establishing another world record. In recognition of his accomplishments, Davis was named Swimming Canada's Athlete of the Year three times and the Canadian government made him a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. A star of Canada's national swim team for nine years, he retired from competitive swimming in July 1989. He was voted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985, and posthumously into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 1990, and 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 ...

in 1994.

Death

A few months after his retirement, on November 11, 1989, while outside a nightclub in the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

suburb of

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue () is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburb located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish ...

, Davis was struck by a car driven by Glen Crossley, who fled the scene. Crossley told police he hit Davis while trying to avoid a juice bottle Davis threatened to throw at the vehicle and didn't realize he made contact with the swimmer. However, other testimony showed that Davis was actually hit from behind and thrown in the air before hitting his head on a parked car and a street curb. Two days later, the 25-year-old swimmer died of a severe

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of ...

as well as

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

and spinal hemorrhage in hospital. In February 1992, Crossley was found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident and sentenced to ten months in prison, ultimately serving four months.

Legacy

Davis's parents fulfilled his express wish that his organs be donated to help save the lives of others. The swimmer's heart, liver, kidneys and corneas were transplanted. Each year since his death, awards are made by the Victor Davis Memorial Fund to help young Canadian swimmers continue their education while training. Thirteen recipients of this award participated in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. In 2002, Victor Davis was inducted into the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...

. In Guelph, the city named the 50m swimming pool in honour of Victor Davis.

Film

Davis's life, death and legacy were remembered in '' Victor'', a two-hour biographical drama film that was written by the Canadian former swimmer Mark Lutz, who also appeared in the title role.

Career highlights

1982 World Aquatics Championships The 4th FINA World Aquatics Championships took place from July 29-August 8, 1982, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. They featured 848 athletes, competing in four Aquatics disciplines: *Diving - 4 events (2 male, 2 female); *Swimming - 29 events (15 male, 1 ...

–

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

*Gold medal – 200 m breaststroke (world record 2:14.77, breaking the old record of 2:15.11 set by David Wilkie in 1976) *Silver medal – 100 m breaststroke

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

–

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*Gold medal – 200 m Breaststroke *Silver medal – 100 m Breaststroke 1984 Canadian Olympic Trials – Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada *Won the 200 m breaststroke (broke his own world record with a time of 2:14.58, bettering his 1982 time)

– Los Angeles, United States *Gold medal – 200 m breaststroke (established world record at 2:13.34, lowering his own 1984 record time) *Silver medal – 100 m breaststroke *Silver medal – 4 × 100 m medley relay

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

–

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*Gold medal – 4 × 100 m medley relay *Gold medal – 100 m breaststroke *Silver medal – 200 m breaststroke 1986 World Aquatics Championships –

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*Gold medal – 100 m breaststroke *Silver medal – 200 m breaststroke

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

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*Silver medal – 4 × 100 m medley relay (1.00.90 split) *Fourth place – 100 m breaststroke (1.02.38) Canadian National Championships (including separate trials meets) *17-time national champion, 100 m breaststroke *14-time national champion, 200 m breaststroke *2-time national champion, 200 m butterfly *2-time national champion, 200 m individual medley *1 national championship, 400 m individual medley

References

External links

Official Victor Davis Movie Site
* * ttp://www.swimnews.com/Magazine/2000/2000jan.pdf Swimnews Magazine in 2000 ran a retrospective on Davis, see pages 6 – 7.
Victor Davis Memorial Fund page – part of Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club websiteVictor Davis Memorial Fund Page - Swimming Canada
looking back at the 1984 LA Olympics * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Victor 1964 births 1989 deaths Accidental deaths in Quebec Canadian male backstroke swimmers Canadian male breaststroke swimmers Canadian male medley swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Deaths from head injury World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada Olympic swimmers for Canada Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Canada Sportspeople from Guelph Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Ontario World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Canadian sportsmen