![]() ![]() They offered him a new life and unimaginable support. Then came the University of Southern California, Florida, Alabama and Miami. Harvard University offered him a scholarship. I didn't see any shooting but you grow up pretty quickly after seeing something like that." 'My friends couldn't believe I knew Elton John'Īfter Munich, Wilkie was a sought-after guy. A breaking news story in front of our eyes. "On a terrace near where we were sitting we could see these Palestinian guys with masks and guns and the German police. "Next day we came down for breakfast and the Canadian swimmers said, 'Have you heard?' We said, 'Heard what?' Getting in and out of the village was easy, there was no security, we'd get fake passes for friends, it was as easy as that. Our digs were right on the perimeter and we saw these guys in yellow tracksuits coming over the fence. "We'd finished our events and we were out having beers and got back to the village quite late - about two or three in the morning. "It was the massacre of the Israeli athletes and I'll never forget it," he says. Munich opened his eyes in more ways than one. In the shadows, Wilkie won silver in the 200m breaststroke behind the great John Hencken of America. Those were the Mark Spitz games - seven golds, seven world records. He grew his hair, he developed sideburns, he created a look that was unheard of in the staid world of swimming. The talent was obvious and so, too, was the spirit. He'd already won Commonwealth Games bronze at that stage. When Wilkie left school, the rebel in him came out. "The years went by and my attitude changed, but it took time." 'It was easy getting into the village in Munich' What was the point?Ĭolombo wasn't just a different continent, it was a different planet. He'd get out of the water and he'd scratch and sneeze and wheeze. Regimented pools with horrible nylon ropes. In Sri Lanka, there was no discipline, just fun. He had to make his own bed, he was responsible for stuff. He couldn't get why his father would want him to trade shorts and flip-flops and heat for a cap and tie and shoes to be polished each morning. ![]() To say it was an unpopular decision would be putting it mildly. He was born there and remained there until his Scottish dad sent him to boarding school in Edinburgh. Wilkie's is a story that begins in the molly-coddled splendour of Colombo with the big family home, the nannies and maids, the sunshine and freedom. There was a lot to enjoy and, by God, you might as well enjoy it." I wouldn't say I was an out-and-out reprobate, but if the opportunity was there we had a good time. "A young guy, hanging around the King's Road, few bob in the pocket. A life and times that goes from his birthplace of Colombo, Sri Lanka, to his arrival in Edinburgh aged 11, to his conquering of the swimming world at 22 and the fame that came with it - a period so adventurous that he counted Elton John as a mate for a spell. Wilkie was speaking on BBC Scotland's This Sporting Life podcast about his life and times. Listen: This Sporting Life with David Wilkie.There might have been people saying, 'don't don't rock the boat', but he did and good on him." "Very few swimmers would have had the guts to do what Duncan did. "He made a stand," says Wilkie, more than 45 years on from upsetting the American monopoly by winning gold at the Montreal Olympics. ![]()
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