Graeme Smith (swimmer)

Graeme Smith (born March 31 1976 in Falkirk, Scotland) is a former British freestyle swimmer.

He won the bronze medal in the 1500m Freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Three years later, at the European SC Championships 1999 in Lisbon, he captured the golden medal in the same event.

Born in Falkirk, his family moved to settle just outside Manchester when he was three years old. He started swimming, when he was four and joined his local swimming club (Saracens) at the age of eight. Amazingly, he never won his national age groups. Smith competed in three consequentive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. But he failed to qualify for the Olympic 1500 m freestyle in Sydney, Australia, after beaten in the trials by Paul Palmer and Adam Faulkner. That feat can be considered as the lowest point in his careerFact|date=February 2007. Booking his ticket to Sydney as a reserve in the 4×200 m freestyle relay was no consolation and initially he decided that he would decline his place on the British team and quit the sportFact|date=February 2007.

In 2001, he became only the 12th man to break the 15-minute barrier and won 2001 World Aquatics Championships silver and bronze in Japan. His perseverance had paid off, and crucially, his confidence was backFact|date=February 2007.

He retired from competitive swimming after the 2004 Summer Olympics, and returned to The University of Manchester in September 2005 to complete his degree, more than ten yearsFact|date=April 2008 after starting.

External links

* [http://www.britishswimming.org/vsite/vcontent/page/custom/0,8510,5157-182805-200023-42701-269430-custom-item,00.html Profile on British Swimming]