Dave Gillanders
Gillanders in 1961
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | John David Gillanders |
| Nickname(s) | "Dave" |
| National team |
 United States
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| Born |
May 18, 1939 Schenectady, New York |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 154 lb (70 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Butterfly |
| Club | Detroit Athletic Club |
| College team | University of Michigan |
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Medal record
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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 in the 75–79 age group.
Originally from Schenectady, New York, Gillanders graduated from Dondero High School in Royal Oak, Michigan 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, where he swam for the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team. He won NCAA 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 in 1962, a master's degree 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.
Gillanders represented the United States as a 21-year-old at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. He qualified for the team by finishing second to Mike Troy 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.
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