Adam Wilkie, son of the late Olympic swimming champion David Wilkie, has quit his marketing job to attempt to match his father's world record in the 200m breaststroke. David Wilkie won gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics with a time of 2 minutes 15.11 seconds, a world record at the time. Adam, who has no competitive swimming background and was once scared of deep water, aims to replicate that time in the 50th anniversary year of the record.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, Adam described himself as 'unbelievably proud' of his father and said the challenge is a way to deal with his grief. 'The thing for me, this is about me dealing with my grief, getting closer to my father and being able to learn lessons from him even though he's not here,' he explained. David Wilkie died two years ago at the age of 70 after battling cancer.
Adam initially set a fundraising target of £215,000 for SportsAid, a charity supporting young athletes. He acknowledged the difficulty ahead, saying 'I'm not a swimmer! I was actually scared of deep water so it's going to be a completely different world for me.' He has now dedicated himself full-time to training with a coach and a team. 'This is going to be it for a year, I'm going to do nothing but swim,' he said.
Reflecting on his father's legacy, Adam added: 'If I can honour his legacy, if I can help someone from SportsAid, a young kid take the next step in their journey, then it'll all be worth it for me.' The challenge is set to take place next year, with Adam focusing on the journey as much as the record time.
