From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duncan Alexander Goodhew MBE (born 27 May 1957) is
one of the most instantly recognisable UK swimming athletes. After swimming competitively in
America as a collegian at North Carolina State
University, he was an Olympic swimmer for Great Britain and won
Olympic gold and
bronze medals at the 1980 Summer
Olympics in Moscow.
Biography
Goodhew attended Windlesham House School and Millfield School (Walton House). He was the
England swimming team captain, and Olympic champion. His bald head
made him instantly recognisable. He in fact has alopecia
universalis (total lack of hair, not just on head), which
gives him a minute hydrodynamic advantage when swimming. He
was also dyslexic, and one of his numerous nicknames
at school was Duncan the Dunce.
He is also an author and motivational speaker. He was
appointed an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II
for services to sport.
Duncan's 100 m breaststroke gold medal achievement was
ranked 99th in the British network Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting
Moments in 2002.
He has made a number of television appearances including Dave Gorman's Important
Astrology Experiment.
After the London protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch
relay, Duncan Goodhew stated that the protests were "a bad
example for children".[1]
Cultural
references
He is mentioned in the BBC TV
series The Office during a
motivational speech by David Brent (Ricky Gervais), by The
Toy Dolls in a song called Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead,
in an episode of Little Britain in which a bald character is
likened to the swimmer and in The Mighty Boosh, when a peacock
crashes into his back in a speech made by Naboo. He is also
sardonically mentioned in the Only Fools and Horses episode The Longest
Night by Tom Clark, the head security officer of the fictional
Top Buyer Superstores.
References
External
links
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