Bob McGregor

Last updated

Bob McGregor
MBE
Bob McGregor 1966c.jpg
McGregor in 1966
Personal information
Full nameRobert Bilsand McGregor
Nickname(s)
"Bob", "Bobby", "The Falkirk Flyer"
Born (1944-04-03) 3 April 1944 (age 81)
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb; 12 st 8 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
ClubChinook Aquatic Club
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1964 Tokyo 100 m freestyle
European Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1966 Utrecht 100 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1962 Leipzig 4×100 m freestyle
Universiade
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1967 Tokyo 100 m freestyle
Representing Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1966 Kingston 110 yd freestyle

Robert Bilsand McGregor, MBE (born 3 April 1944), nicknamed the "Falkirk Flyer", is a Scottish former competitive swimmer.

Contents

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 in Perth, Australia. [3]

McGregor represented the Scotland team again [4] at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he participated in three events. [5] He won the silver medal in the 110 yards individual freestyle, finished fourth in the 4 x 100 metres freestye relay, with Downie Brown, Gordon Black and Alex Galletly and finished fifth in the 4 x 110 yards medley relay, with Casey Nelson, Eric Henderson and Gordon Black. [6]

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). [7] He also won the 1963 200 metres freestyle. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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. ↑ "McGregor to captain Scotland's Empire Games team" . The Scotsman. 13 June 1966. p. 14. Retrieved 13 December 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Scotland Kingston 1966". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "Scotland Kingston 1966". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "From Our Swimming Correspondent. "Swimming Championships." Times, 30 Aug. 1963, p. 4". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 30 August 1963. p. 4.
  8. ↑ ""Strong British Challenge To Australian Swimmers." Times, 17 Sept. 1962, p. 4". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 17 September 1962. p. 4.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ ""McGregor's Record." Times, 12 Sept. 1966, p. 6". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 12 September 1966. p. 6.
  12. ↑ ""Four new caps." Times, 14 Aug. 1967, p. 12". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 14 August 1967. p. 12.