David Francis Gerrard (born 1 May 1945 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

) is a sports administrator, sports medicine specialist, and former

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

swimming representative from New Zealand.

Swimming career

As a competitive swimmer, Gerrard was a specialist in the

butterfly stroke The butterfly (colloquially shortened to fly) is a List of swimming styles, swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both arms moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the "dolphin kick"). While other styles like ...

winning the national 110 yards title from 1962 to 1968 (excluding 1964) and the 220 yards title for ten consecutive years from 1960 to 1969.Todd, S. (1976) ''Sporting Records of New Zealand.'' Auckland: Moa Publications. As a representative at the Olympic Games Gerrard competed at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

, reaching the semi-finals of the 200 metres butterfly.Ron Palenski & Terry Maddaford: ''The Games'' Auckland: Moa Publications Ltd. He also represented New Zealand twice at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. At the 1962 Games in

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 is ...

, Western Australia, he reached the finals in both the 110 yards and 220 yards butterfly but did not medal. In 1966 Games in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, he won Gold in the 220 yards butterfly and Bronze as part of the New Zealand 4x110 yards medley relay team. He also reached the final of the 110 yards butterfly.

Medical career

After his retirement from competition, Gerrard gained a medical degree (

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

) at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 1977 and has specialised in the field of sports medicine, mainly based in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

at the University of Otago. Over the years he has strongly participated in teaching and research in sports medicine, lipids and diabetes. He joined the University of Otago in 1981 and in 2007 Gerrard had become the Associate Dean of the School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Sports Medicine at the

University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine The Dunedin School of Medicine is the name of the School of Medicine that is based on the Dunedin campus of the University of Otago. All University of Otago medical students who gain entry after the competitive Health Sciences First Year prog ...

. In the 2007 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to sports medicine. In 2014, Gerrard was promoted to professor at the

, and in 2016 was granted the title

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Professor.

Sports administrator

He has served as an official at the following Olympic and Commonwealth Games: *

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

: Swimming Manager *

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

: Team Doctor *

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

: Team Doctor *

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

: Team Doctor *

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 ...

: Health Team Leader *

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

: Chef de Mission *

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

: Chef de Mission In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...

, Gerrard was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to sports medicine and sport. He was chair of Drug Free Sport New Zealand from 2003 to 2010. He was one of the inaugural NZ Fellows of the

Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians The Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training, educating, and representing over 350 doctors in Australia and New Zealand. These doctors practise medicine ...

. He was on the committee of the International Swimming Federation's Sports Medicine Committee for 30 years and has chaired the Therapeutic Use Exemptions committee of the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

since 2013. He is currently working to develop a test to detect use of synthetic

Erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the bo ...

, a drug frequently used in

Blood doping Blood doping is a form of doping in which the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream is boosted in order to enhance athletic performance. Because such blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, a higher concentration in the bl ...

References

External links

University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine staff webpage
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerrard, David 1945 births Male butterfly swimmers Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand male swimmers New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Olympic swimmers of New Zealand Sportspeople from Dunedin Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games New Zealand sports physicians University of Otago alumni University of Otago faculty Swimmers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Swimmers from Dunedin

Swimming career

Medical career

Sports administrator

See also

References

External links