Victor Davis

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Medal record
Victor Davis
Men's Swimming
Competitor for Canada
Olympic Games
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	200 m Breaststroke
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	100 m Breaststroke
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	4x100 m Medley
Silver	1988 Seoul	4x100 m Medley
Commonwealth Games
Gold	1982 Brisbane	200m Breaststroke
Gold	1986 Edinburgh	100m Breaststroke
Gold	1986 Edinburgh	4x100 m Medley
Silver	1982 Brisbane	100m Breaststroke
Silver	1986 Edinburgh	200m Breaststroke
World Championsips (LC)
Gold	1982 Guayaquil	200m Breaststroke
Gold	1986 Madrid	100m Breaststroke
Silver	1982 Guayaquil	100m Breaststroke
Silver	1986 Madrid	200m Breaststroke
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold	1987 Brisbane	100m Breaststroke
Bronze	1987 Brisbane	200m Breaststroke

Victor Davis, CM (February 10, 1964–November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and world champion swimmer, a well known breaststroker from Canada. He also enjoyed success in the individual medley and the butterfly.

1 Biography
2 Legacy
3 Movie
4 Career highlights
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Biography

He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. 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 29 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 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, Victor 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.

A star of Canada's national swim team for nine years, he retired from competitive swimming in July of 1989. He was voted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Only a few months after his retirement, on November 11, 1989 while outside a nightclub in the Montreal suburb of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Victor Davis was struck by an automobile whose driver fled the scene. It was suspected that Davis and the driver had got in a heated argument, and many believed that the latter wanted revenge. Two days later, the 25 year-old died of his injuries in hospital. The charges against the driver were never sustained.

[edit] Legacy

Victors parents fulfilled his express wish that his organs be donated to help save the lives of others. The swimmer's heart, liver, kidneys and two cornea were transplanted. The recipient of Victor Davis's heart lived for an amazing 16 years after the transplant due to his fitness.

Each year since his passing, awards are made by The Victor Davis Memorial Fund to help young Canadian swimmers continue their education while training in pursuit of excellence at the international level of competition. To date, more than 55 athletes have benefited.

[edit] Movie

Victor's life, death and legacy was remembered in VICTOR, a two-hour movie which was telecast on Sunday, January 13, 2008 and Saturday, June 7, 2008 on CBC Television. The movie was a critical and ratings smash, generating the highest ratings for the network in well over a decade. The movie was written by and stars in the title role former Canadian swimmer Mark Lutz.

[edit] Career highlights

1982 World Aquatics Championships - Guayaquil, Ecuador

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

1982 Commonwealth Games – Brisbane, Australia

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)

1984 Summer Olympics – 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 - 4x100 m medley relay

1986 Commonwealth Games – Edinburgh, Scotland