Meet Adam Wilkie, the marketing manager trying to match father’s swimming world record

For us mere mortals, the accolade of world-record holder is rarely nothing more than a pipe dream. But Adam Wilkie, a humble marketing manager from west , is hedging his bets on his own genetics. Adam has quit his desk job in a bid to match the world-record time of his father, British Olympic swimming great David Wilkie, who stormed to 200m breaststroke gold at the Montreal Games in 1976.

The 33-year-old has given himself a year to try emulate his dad’s world-beating feat 50 years on, doing so for charity and in memory of David, who died from cancer in 2024. "He would think I am mad because he knows how hard it was," Adam said. "He knows how hard swimming is and how much work he put in to get to that time.

Former Olympic champion David Wilkie (right) holding his son Adam (Popperfoto/Getty) "But I think he would be proud that his son is trying to do something to remember him. " The bar set for Adam is a time of two minutes and 15. 11 seconds, a world’s best in 1976.

Now training full-time with a professional coach, he will have access to the facilities and sports science that Aquatics GB can offer, even if he has never been an elite swimmer. “I work in marketing, I stand behind this desk most days. I’m not a swimmer,” he said, admitting he was “scared of water” as a child.