Aged 22, and nonetheless enhancing, it could solely be imagined what Wilkie might need gained over the following two or three Olympic cycles had he continued swimming competitively. Earning cash out of your sport, nonetheless, was forbidden even to the extent of documenting your story in an autobiography. Wilkie – described by one newspaper as “the coolest man in Britain” – promptly introduced his retirement, turning into a well-recognized face over the following decade on the nation’s largest tv reveals whereas additionally supporting quite a few grass-roots swimming initiatives. He would later recall impressing some American pals throughout a stroll down the King’s Road within the late Seventies and being immediately greeted with his first title by the singer Elton John. “I wouldn’t say I was an out-and-out reprobate but, if the opportunity was there we had a good time,” Wilkie mentioned.
His huge swimming affect can be felt in how Goodhew and Adrian Moorhouse then adopted with Olympic breaststroke golds. Both cited Wilkie as their inspiration.
“People were always remarkably interested when they would meet him,” says Adam. “If someone asked, he would talk about his swimming but he was never boastful. He was very at ease with himself.”
Wilkie did briefly make swimming-related headlines once more in 2017 after being ticked off by an over-zealous lifeguard at his native well being membership for supposedly going too shortly within the quick lane. His most cancers got here in 2021. “It’s so sad because, before the diagnosis, he was incredibly fit, incredibly young for a 67-year-old,” says Adam. “He fought it like an Olympic champion would and lived as full a life as I think anyone can.
“In the 70s and 80s, he was on TV, he was a public personality and then he became a family man, a businessman and lived a more private life. He just loved being at home with his family.”
