John David Gillanders (born May 18, 1939) is an American competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. He still competes in

masters swimming Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming for swimmers 25 years and older. Premasters is normally included as well, from 18 years old (Canada, United States and Australia) or 20 years old (Europe). In Canada ten thousand swimm ...

in the 75–79 age group.

Early life

Originally from

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, Gillanders graduated from

Dondero High School George A. Dondero High School (formerly Royal Oak High School) opened in 1927 in Royal Oak, Michigan in Greater Detroit. It was named after former Royal Oak School Board president and U.S. representative George A. Dondero. A part of the Royal Oa ...

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along t ...

in 1957. While there, he earned state and national honors swimming the individual butterfly and as a member of the medley relay team. He was inducted into the Royal Oak High School Hall of Fame in 1996. After high school, he attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he swam for the

Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving The Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving program has both a men's and women's team. The University of Michigan swimming program is one of the most highly respected college swimming programs in the country. The men's and women's teams, which ha ...

team.MGoBlue.com, Men's Swimming & Diving
Michigan Men's Swimming and Diving All-Time NCAA Champions
. Retrieved February 17, 2013. He won

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

individual titles in both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events in 1959 and 1961, and was a member of the Michigan Wolverines team that won the NCAA championship in the 400-yard medley relay in 1959. At Michigan, Gillanders earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1962, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1963, and eventually a PhD in electrical engineering in 1972. In 2004, Gillanders was elected to the

University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.

.Sports-Reference.com
Dave Gillanders
Retrieved January 23, 2015.

International career

Gillanders represented the United States as a 21-year-old at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, Italy. He qualified for the team by finishing second to

Mike Troy Michael Francis Troy (October 3, 1940 – August 3, 2019) was an American competitive swimmer, a two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder in three events. The peak of Troy's swimming career occurred between 1959 and 1960 while he was ...

at the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:14. At the Olympics, Gillanders won a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly (2:15.3), again finishing behind Troy (2:12.8) and Australian Neville Hayes (2:14.6). Recounting the race, Gillanders said he was "quite disappointed" with the result because he was over a second slower than his trials time. He also swam for the winning U.S. team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter medley relay, but did not receive a medal because prelim swimmers were not awarded medals for their contributions at the time. Notably, the prelim team Gillanders was a part of broke the world record, but it was later broken by the starting American team in the final. In addition to his Olympic medal, Gillanders won a gold medal at the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Am ...

in the 200-meter butterfly, beating eventual Olympic champion

Later life

Gillanders was a professor of electrical engineering at Texas A&I University (now

Texas A&M University–Kingsville Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a Public university, public research university in Kingsville, Texas. It is the southernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System. The university developed the nation's first doctoral degree in bilingual ...

) and

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

before retiring after over 30 years of teaching. He still continues to swim in U.S. Masters Swimming competitions where has been in the top ten of his age group for most of the last 35 years. In 1986, he set a Masters world record in the short course 100-meter butterfly for the 45–49 age group. Most recently, he placed in the top ten in the 200-meter backstroke (short course) in 2011, and in the top ten of several events during the 2010 USMS Spring National Championships in May and in the Summer Championships in August.Usms.org
USMS Top Ten Swims by David Gillanders
Retrieved January 24, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillanders, Dave 1939 births Living people American male butterfly swimmers Michigan Wolverines men's swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York Swimmers at the 1959 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games

Early life

International career

Later life

See also

References