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Adrian David Moorhouse MBE (born 24 May 1964) is an English former competitive swimmer who dominated British swimming in the late 1980s. He won the gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, Korea. Since then Moorhouse, a former pupil of
Bingley Grammar School Bingley Grammar School (BGS) is a Voluntary aided school for students from the ages of 11–18 and is located on the outskirts of Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. Bingley Grammar School was a specialist school for Business & Enterprise from ...
, has translated his sporting success to a successful career in the business world, as managing director of Lane4, a consultancy helping individuals and teams around the world reach their fullest potential. He was voted Best Leader at the '' Sunday Times'' Best Small Companies to Work for in 2009 and 2007 and has been listed in HR Magazine's Most Influential UK Thinkers since 2010. He is also a swimming commentator for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television.


Swimming career

Moorhouse was born in Bradford,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, attended
Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...
and went to 4th Shipley
Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...
. Moorhouse's inspiration to become seriously involved in national and international competitive swimming came at the age of 12 when he watched
David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...
win gold at the Montreal Olympics. In 1980 he was selected for the England Junior team and broke the national junior records for both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke. When he was 15, he was chosen for the national senior squad, number two to the gold medallist at the
Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
, Duncan Goodhew. Moorhouse became Britain's number one breaststroke swimmer in 1981 when he won a bronze medal for the 200 m in the European Championships in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. The following year he gained his first taste of gold after winning the 100 m breaststroke at the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
in Australia, in a new British Record of 1:02.93, along with a bronze in the 200m breaststroke. In the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in
Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...
shortly afterwards, he missed bronze by just 2/100th of a second in the 100m breaststroke behind (future) 1984 Olympic Champions
Steve Lundquist Stephen K. Lundquist (born February 20, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke ...
(USA) and
Victor Davis Victor Nicolas Davis, CM (February 10, 1964 – November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and world champion swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke. He also enjoyed success in the individual medley and the butterfly. Biography Victor Dav ...
(CAN), and future world record holder John Moffet (USA). The following year he was back to winning ways taking gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1983 European Championships in Rome together with a silver in the 100m. At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Moorhouse was tipped for a gold medal in the 100 m breaststroke but missed out completely, coming fourth behind Steve Lundquist of the USA who won gold in a new world record of 1:01.65 swimming in the adjacent lane. "I was devastated", he says. "After the Games I convinced myself that I had no talent and that I was never going to win again. I didn't want anything to do with swimming.” On New Year's Eve 1984, Moorhouse stayed home alone to reflect and decided to train for a competition in April 1985 as a 'last roll of the dice' to see whether he had what it took to conquer the world. His decision was vindicated when he broke the World Short Course (25 m pool) record for the 100 m in a time of 1:00.58, and went on to win the European Championships gold medal in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
in a time of 1:02.99. The year 1986 was a bittersweet one for Moorhouse. At the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
in Edinburgh, he narrowly took silver in the 100m breaststroke behind long-time rival Victor Davis of Canada. However, he put his disappointment behind him to turn the tables on Davis in the 200m breaststroke a few days later, an event in which the Canadian had been heavily favoured as the reigning Olympic Champion and world record holder. Overtaking Davis in the second half of the race, Moorhouse took gold in a personal best and new English record of 2:16.35. A month later in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Moorhouse qualified fastest for the 100m breaststroke final at the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in a new European record of 1:02.28. In the final, he powered to the front in the second 50m to beat Victor Davis convincingly and win the race in another European record of 1:02.01. However, he was then controversially disqualified for an alleged dolphin kick at the turn, promoting Davis to gold. (
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
, swimming's world governing body, changed the breaststroke rules in 2005 to permit a single dolphin kick at the start and turn in recognition of the fact that this is often an unintended and involuntary reaction to the underwater pullout.) Despite his natural disappointment, though, Moorhouse finished the year ranked first in the world for the 100m breaststroke for the first time, a position he retained for the next four years. In 1987, putting the Madrid episode behind him, Moorhouse set a world short-course record, in a competition in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
, by becoming the first person to swim 100 m breaststroke in less than a minute, out-swimming the former world record holder, Rolf Beab in a time of 59.75 s. Later that year, at the European Championships in Strasbourg, Moorhouse retained his 100m title in a new European record of 1:02.13, before taking bronze in the 200m breaststroke in a personal best of 2:15.78 for good measure. Moorhouse started Olympic year, 1988, on the right note by winning the 100 m breaststroke at the US Indoor Championships to confirm his status as number one in the world. In September he achieved a lifetime's ambition at
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
when, following in the footsteps of
David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...
and Duncan Goodhew, he won Olympic gold in the 100 m breaststroke in a time of 1:02.04, overtaking Dmitry Volkov (URS) and
Károly Güttler Károly Güttler (born 15 June 1968 in Budapest) is a former breaststroker from Hungary, who represented his native country at four consecutive Olympics, beginning with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and ending with the 2000 Summer Olympics ...
(HUN) at the wall, in a characteristic finishing surge, to win by 1/100th of a second in the closest race of those Olympics. Having finally achieved his Olympic dream, Moorhouse entered 1989 with an aura of invincibility. In the heats of the 100m breaststroke at the European Championships in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
, he achieved another lifetime's ambition when he set a new world record of 1:01.49. Notably, he broke the record set by Steve Lundquist in the 1984 Olympics, in the lane adjacent to Moorhouse, adding extra significance to his achievement. In the final, he secured his hat-trick of European golds in this event, winning in 1:01.71. In 1990, he equaled his own 100m breaststroke world record of 1:01.49 twice: first, to win gold at the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
; and second, in the summer's British Championships at a time when the World Championships had initially been scheduled. However, due to the host city
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
(AUS) being in the Southern Hemisphere, the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
were postponed until January 1991 to coincide with summer. Here, Moorhouse swam another fantastic time of 1:01.58 but had to settle for silver behind a new world record and breakthrough performance from Hungary's
Norbert Rózsa Norbert Rózsa (born 9 February 1972) is a former breaststroker from Hungary, who competed at three consecutive Olympics, beginning with the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He won two silver medals, in the 100 m and 200 m breaststr ...
. (It is worth noting that the FINA World Championships were moved from a four-year cycle to a two-year cycle a decade later. Had that been the case in the late 1980s, then Moorhouse may well have won two world titles given that he was ranked first in the world for the five-year period from 1986 to 1990.) Later in 1991, he again took silver behind Norbert Rózsa in the European Championships in Athens in a time of 1:01.89, his final major medal and his fifth consecutive podium placing in this event. The following year, he qualified for the final of the 100m breaststroke at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, but faded in the final to finish 8th to draw the curtain on his illustrious career. In the late 1980s, Adrian Moorhouse was one of Britain's most successful sportspeople, finishing as runner-up in the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year contest in 1988 following his Olympic win. His achievements continued the tradition of successful British men's breaststroke swimming that had started with Olympic golds from
David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...
in 1976 and Duncan Goodhew in 1980. Moorhouse himself then inspired a new generation of British male breaststroke swimmers, starting with his domestic rival, double Olympic medalist
Nick Gillingham Nicholas Gillingham, (born 22 January 1967) is an English former competitive swimmer, active in the 1980's and 1990's. Born in Walsall, he represented Great Britain in the Olympics, FINA World championships and European championships, as well ...
, through to 2003 World Champion James Gibson, and more recently 2012 Olympic silver medalist
Michael Jamieson Michael Jamieson (born 5 August 1988) is a Scottish former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, FINA world championships and European championships, and Scotland in the Commonwealth Games. Jamieson won the silver ...
, and, most notably, reigning Olympic, World, European, and Commonwealth Champion and world record holder in the 50m and 100m breaststroke,
Adam Peaty Adam George Peaty (born 28 December 1994) is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in the breaststroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first by a male British swimmer in 24 years, ...
, on whose 2016 Olympic victory Moorhouse commentated for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television alongside his former Olympic teammate and butterfly medalist Andy Jameson. Throughout his career he regularly participated in the ASA National Championships and won 16 titles. The 50 metres breaststroke title in 1991 and 1992, the 100 metres breaststroke title in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991 and the 200 metres breaststroke title in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986.


Rivalry with Victor Davis

Canadian
Victor Davis Victor Nicolas Davis, CM (February 10, 1964 – November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and world champion swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke. He also enjoyed success in the individual medley and the butterfly. Biography Victor Dav ...
first encountered Moorhouse at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
when Davis took gold in the 200 m breaststroke, and Moorhouse took the gold in the 100 m breaststroke. They met again later at the 1982 World Championships in
Guayaquil, Ecuador , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...
, but this time Davis had the upper hand in both events, taking the gold in the 200 m and silver in the 100 m. Moorhouse, also in his first World Championships, finished 5th in the 100 m, and 7th in the 200 m. Their next encounter was at the 1984 Olympics and it seemed that both their chances were enhanced by the boycott of
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. The 1984 Games were perhaps Victor Davis' finest competition, as he took gold in the 200 m and silver in the 100 m. Meanwhile, Moorhouse suffered badly. Having had severe tonsillitis just days before the start of the Games, he finished 4th in the 100 m and 6th in the 200 m. Davis, now at the pinnacle of his swimming career, was voted into the
Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...
. At the time of the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Victor Davis took gold in the 100 m event. Now the European Champion, Moorhouse, surprised Davis by sneaking the gold in the 200 m event. By the time of the 1986 World Championships in Madrid, the world swimming media were hyping up the 100 m breaststroke event as 'the event of the championships', knowing that it would inevitably prove to be another great battle between Davis and Moorhouse. Davis couldn't contain Moorhouse over the final 25 m, and Moorhouse took the 100 m gold in a new European Record of 1.02.01 secs. Davis took the silver in 1:02.71. The officials disqualified Moorhouse for an 'illegal turn', claiming he had used a butterfly kicking action during the underwater phase of the 50 m turn. TV crews from around the world began to analyse the footage of the 'illegal turn' from all conceivable angles, but each time it looked perfectly sound. The call of the 'turn judge' was upheld on appeal and Davis was awarded the gold medal. Davis went on to take silver in the 200 m breaststroke – beaten by Hungarian
József Szabó József Szabó (born 10 March 1969) is a retired Hungarian swimmer. He competed in three individual events at the 1988 Olympics and won a gold medal in the 200 m breaststroke; he placed fourth in the 400 m and 24th in the 200 m medley eve ...
. Moorhouse withdrew from the 200 m event with a strained adductor muscle. The final encounter between Davis and Moorhouse at the
1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...
in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, which proved to be Davis' final international competition. Both had announced before the Games that the 100 m event would be their main priority. Davis had performed poorly at the Canadian Olympic Trials, and had not been selected for the 200 m breaststroke, while Moorhouse was ranked number one in the world, and his lifetime best of 1:01.78 was close to the world record 1:01.65. Davis, still the Canadian record holder at 1:01.99, was only ranked 6th in the world going into the 1988 Olympics and no-one really knew what kind of shape he was going to be in. In the morning heats, Davis looked very impressive. He led the field from the start, and easily won his heat in a time of 1:02.48. Moorhouse was able to qualify in a faster time, winning his heat in 1:02.19. After one false start, Moorhouse looked the more nervous of the two behind the starting blocks. Meanwhile, Davis looked calm. At the second start, both Davis and Dmitri Volkov of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
began strongly, leaving Moorhouse slightly trailing. Volkov opened a 2-metre lead over the first 50 m, and Davis was matched stroke for stroke by Moorhouse. Volkov touched first at the 50 m mark in 28.12 s, setting a new 50 metre breaststroke world record. Moorhouse turned 6th in 29.42 s, and Davis turned 7th in 29.46 s. Volkov extended his lead, and as he reached the 75 m mark, he looked a certainty for the gold medal. He was 3–4 metres ahead of Moorhouse, Davis and
Károly Güttler Károly Güttler (born 15 June 1968 in Budapest) is a former breaststroker from Hungary, who represented his native country at four consecutive Olympics, beginning with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and ending with the 2000 Summer Olympics ...
of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. At this point Davis and Moorhouse closed in on Volkov. Moorhouse took the gold in 1:02.04, just ahead of Guttler's time of 1:02.05. The bronze medal was won by Volkov, in a time of 1:02.20, leaving Davis in 4th place, with a time of 1:02.38.


Later career and retirement

In 1989 Moorhouse was appointed MBE. He remained as the world number one until 1991 but at the
Barcelona Olympic Games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
he finished eighth in the final and soon retired from swimming. He has since worked as a management consultant. Moorhouse was chosen as an official Team GB Ambassador for London 2012 Games and was also a torchbearer. In July 2021, in common with previous years, Moorhouse was the lead swimming commentator for BBC Television Sport's swimming coverage of the Summer Olympics broadcast from MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester.


See also

* List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame *
List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming from 1930 to 2022. Current program 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 1500 metre freestyle 50 metre backstroke ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming. Men's events 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 800 metre freestyle 1500 metre freestyle 100 metre backstroke 200 metre ...
*
World record progression 100 metres breaststroke This is a listing of the history of the World Record in the 100 breaststroke swimming event. The first world record in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognized by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1961, while the wome ...


References


External links

* * * *
BBC profile of Adrian Moorhouse from 2000

Lane4 profile of Adrian Moorhouse from 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorhouse, Adrian 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Bradford Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of the British Empire Olympic swimmers of Great Britain English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain People educated at Bradford Grammar School World record setters in swimming Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Mensans European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming English breaststroke swimmers Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming English male swimmers Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming