LEGEND OF THE POOL & A PIONEER

Sporting world mourns loss of Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medallist as icon is remembered for being a trailblazer during career

- FRASER WILSON

TRIBUTES were paid to Scottish swimming legend David Wilkie last night after the Olympic champion died at the age of 70 following a battle with cancer.

Dubbed a "pioneer" of the sport and widely considered Scotland's greatest swimmer, Wilkie's crowning moment came in the 1976 Montreal Games where he became the first British man to win gold in the pool for 68 years, storming to the 200m breaststroke title and shattering the world record by three seconds.

Born in Sri Lanka to Scottish parents, Wilkie was sent back to boarding school in Edinburgh at the age of 11. It was there he honed his talents at the renowned Warrender Baths Club.

Fittingly, he won his first major honour at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, taking bronze in the 200m breaststroke before turning that into a gold four years later in Christchurch.

Wilkie also won two Olympic silver medals, three world titles and two European golds in a remarkable career.

His family released a statement yesterday saying: "It is with great sadness that the family of David Wilkie MBE announce that he died peacefully surrounded by his family this morning following his brave battle with cancer." Wilkie retired from professional swimming aged just 22 after his Olympics success in Montreal.

But his legacy continues to this day and his story has inspired generations of champions in the pool.

Ross Murdoch, who rose to prominence after taking home town Commonwealth gold just like Wilkie, in the 200m breaststroke in Glasgow a decade ago, called him "an absolute pioneer.