Gryphon Gallery: Our First of Several Olympians

February 17, 2022

Alumni

Stuart Brambley, Archivist Stuart Brambley, Archivist photo

Robert J. (Bob) Wheaton was born in Victoria and went to GNS (Glenlyon Preparatory School) from 1950 to 1955. As a youngster he would go swimming at the ‘Y’ on Blanshard Street and caught the eye of legendary swimming coach Archie McKinnon.

At 14 years old, he entered the annual Beaver-Elk Lake race and won in a record time. It was the start of an all too short career that nearly ended after only one year. Although he showed great promise, he seriously considered quitting at fifteen and it took the persuasion of others to encourage him to continue.

Emerging as a backstroke specialist, Bob broke Canadian junior and senior records and at age sixteen he was selected for the British Empire Games in Cardiff, Wales. He placed third in the 110 yards backstroke and led the Canadian medley relay to a silver medal. A year later, in 1959, he was recognized as Victoria’s outstanding athlete with the Sid Thomas Memorial award, beat his own Canadian 100m backstroke record and won a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Chicago, again as the leadoff swimmer for the medley relay.

These successes paved the way for his Olympic team selection at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He again as the backstroke lead in the medley relay, put his team in a great position to place fourth behind the dominant USA, strong Australian and Japanese teams.

However, somewhat surprisingly at 18, Bob retired after this Olympic experience and pursued a further education at the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. While forging his professional life in business, construction and real estate, Bob has always been a very active member in the Victoria community. He has served as president, chair, and director of many local organizations, not the least being a board member, active supporter and parent at GNS.

This is the tenth instalment of a series of articles entitled “Gryphon Gallery” created by our School Archivist that provide snapshots that celebrate the achievements of a variety of alumni and staff from throughout the history of GNS.