Bob McGregor

For the Scottish footballer, see Bob McGregor (footballer).

Bob McGregor
MBE
McGregor in 1966
Personal information
Full nameRobert Bilsand McGregor
Nickname(s)"Bob", "Bobby", "The Falkirk Flyer"
Born (1944-04-03) 3 April 1944 (age 80)
Falkirk
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb; 12 st 8 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubChinook Aquatic Club
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1964 Tokyo 100 m freestyle
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1966 Utrecht 100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1962 Leipzig 4×100 m freestyle
Universiade
Silver medal – second place 1967 Tokyo 100 m freestyle
Representing  Scotland
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 1966 Kingston 110 yd freestyle

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-metre freestyle in 1964, and finished fourth in the 100-metre freestyle and 4×100-metre freestyle relay in 1968.[1] He was a second favourite for the 1963 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. In 2002 he was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.[2] Olympic selectors could not believe that he trained in a 25-metre pool in Falkirk when the selectors arrived to critique him prior to the Tokyo Olympics.

McGregor competed at the 1962 and 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, winning a silver medal on each occasion in the 110-yard freestyle.[3]

He is a six times winner of the British Championship in 100 metres freestyle (1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1968). In the 1963 event he set a world record in the heats (54.4 sec) and the final (54.1 sec).[4] He also won the 1963 200 metres freestyle.[5][6][7][8][9]

Personal life

He retired from swimming in 1968 and now works as an architect in Glasgow. He lives in Helensburgh with his wife and family.[2] His father, David McGregor, was an Olympic water polo player.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bobby McGregor". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Bob McGregor, MBE". Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Commonwealth Games Federation Athlete Search". Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  4. ^ "From Our Swimming Correspondent. "Swimming Championships." Times, 30 Aug. 1963, p. 4". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 30 August 1963. p. 4.
  5. ^ ""Strong British Challenge To Australian Swimmers." Times, 17 Sept. 1962, p. 4". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 17 September 1962. p. 4.
  6. ^ "From Our Swimming Correspondent. "World's Fastest Can Swim Faster Still." Times, 2 Sept. 1963, p. 3". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 2 September 1963. p. 3.
  7. ^ "From Our Swimming Correspondent. "Meagre Swimming Team For Tokyo." Times, 24 Aug. 1964, p. 3". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 24 August 1964. p. 3.
  8. ^ ""McGregor's Record." Times, 12 Sept. 1966, p. 6". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 12 September 1966. p. 6.
  9. ^ ""Four new caps." Times, 14 Aug. 1967, p. 12". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 14 August 1967. p. 12.
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