Double Olympic medallist, World & Commonwealth Champion & European Champion on 3 successive occasions. Winner of 17 Championship Medals, holding 3 World, 9 Commonwealth, 11 European & 17 British Records. Nick has lead from the top captaining his country & represented GB for 13yrs. Received the M.B.E. in 1993 for ‘Services to Swimming’. Awarded an ‘Honorary Fellowship’ University of Sunderland 2008. Current National Record Holder.

Born in Walsall, West Midlands in 1967, now residing in Warkworth, Northumberland.

Nick Gillingham is one of the world’s most successful 200m breaststroke swimmers being one of an elite group of 7 individuals to have held the world record over the last 32 years.

A double Olympic medallist and former World and Commonwealth Champion and Record Holder; Nick rewrote the history books by being European Champion on 3 successive occasions. Winner of 17 Championship Medals to include 5 Gold, gaining 3 World Records, 9 Commonwealth, 11 European & 17 British Records for his individual events, Nick represented Great Britain for 13 years and is the current National Record Holder for England which he first set in 1988.
Since retiring from elite sport after the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Nick continued to compete at Master’s level and became a World Masters Champion & Record Holder for the 50, 100 & 200 metres breaststroke.

Nick received the M.B.E. during the New Years Honours list 1993 for ‘Services to Swimming’ and most recently was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University of Sunderland for his contribution to sport and recognition of his sporting excellence and services to swimming and his continuing contribution and support for young and gifted athletes in the North East with the University, through ‘Team Tyne & Wear’.

Over the years Nick has worked with BBC TV and BBC Radio 5 Live as a commentator and broadcaster, covering the sport of swimming at the 2000 Paralympic Games (Sydney), 2004 World Short Course Championships (Athens), 2004 Olympics Games (Athens), 2005 World Swimming Championships (Montreal), 2006 Commonwealth Games (Melbourne) and the 2007 World Championships (Melbourne).

In 2005 Nick began working with the Youth Sport Trust initially as an Athlete Mentor for the Living for Sport Programme working with up to 30 secondary schools, focusing on behavioural change and more recently as an accredited RAMP Mentor with both the Youth Sport Trust & Creating Excellence working within the community and education across organisations initially within the Governments RESPECT areas who refer young people between the ages of 10 – 25 years in order to develop and sustain positive ‘life change’.

Between 2006 and 2008 Nick was positioned within ‘school sport’ across a ‘county area’ and was responsible for systemic change across all inter-school competition having the responsibility for ‘strategic management’ and a-lining his team with change and direction. The development and deployment of effective partnership working was also a defining area of work. Nick is therefore well positioned to relay his sporting and professional mind to the issues within and across dynamic organisations.

Between 1996 & 2000 Nick delivered the British Olympic Associations Planning for Success course for many different Olympic squads. The training programme included the principles of goal setting, time management, lifestyle planning and motivation which supported Team GB in their quest for a top ten ‘medal table’ ranking.

Nick has contributed to numerous magazine articles and publications over the years. He is the author and publisher of swimZone™ ‘Introduction to Swim Fitness’ and ‘The Swim Fitness Programme’ and was the innovator for swim fitness training and development throughout the UK leisure industry. swimZone™ gained endorsement through the National Governing Body for swimming, the Amateur Swimming Association for its innovation and success.
Nick is an accomplished and successful motivational, inspirational and team building speaker, specialist areas include:

Motivation, Handling Pressure, Creating a Winning Team, Defining Winning as a Goal, Goal Setting & Planning, The Principals of Goal Setting, Fair Play, Personal Excellence, Fear & Failure, The Role Model Effect and Conference Hosting (Experienced and skilled with the delivery of autocue and written scripts).
Career Achievements: 100 & 200 Metres Breaststroke


European Championships
1989 200m GOLD (World Record 2:12.90) Bonn
1991 200m GOLD (Commonwealth Record 2:12.55) Athens
1993 200m GOLD (Championship Record 2:12.49) Sheffield
100m Silver Sheffield
4x100m Medley Relay Bronze (split time 1:00.78 second all time best)
1999 200m GOLD 2:20.42 (Master World Record) Innsbruck
1999 100m GOLD 1:05.02 (Masters World Record) Innsbruck
2003 200m GOLD 2:25.76 (Masters European Record) Millau
2003 100m GOLD 1:06.09 (Masters European Record) Millau




Commonwealth Games
1986 200m Bronze Edinburgh
1990 200m Bronze and 100m Bronze Auckland
1994 200m GOLD (Commonwealth Games Record) Victoria
100m Silver Victoria
4x100m Medley Relay Bronze Victoria


World Championships
1991 200m Bronze Perth
1993 200m GOLD (European Record) Palma
4 x 100m Medley Relay Bronze (split time 59.91) Palma
1994 200m Finalist 4th Rome
2000 50m, 100m & 200m GOLD (Masters) Munich
2004 50m, 100m & 200m GOLD (Masters) Riccione

Olympic Games
1988 200m Silver (British Record 2:14.12) Seoul
1992 200m Bronze (Commonwealth Record 2:11.29 recovering from acute injury) Barcelona
100m Finalist 7th (Carrying acute injury)
1996 200m Finalist 4th Atlanta


Other
1991 200m (World Record short course 2:07.93) Birmingham
1992 100m (Commonwealth Record 1:01:33) Sheffield
2004 200m (World Masters Record 2:20.29) Riccione
2004 100m (World Masters Record 1:04.73) Riccione

ASDA Product Development and Technical Supplier Conference Asda House, Leeds.
'Nick Gillingham spoke from his own experiences with such enthusiasm and with a sense of reality that it inspired you to believe that anything is possible. He also related back what he was saying to the audience and linked it in very well with their job role, making it very relevant. Very professional and upbeat, 50 minutes seemed like 5 minutes and we wanted more… '
(Letter of thanks)
Many thanks for coming and speaking at our conference last week. It was a pleasure to meet you and we felt your session was really useful and added to the success of the overall day. I particularly felt you linked in the role of the suppliers and the need for good product development very well into your presentation, making it relevant.
On a personal note I have to say I could relate to some of what you were saying about the perfectionist in you' and your advice on 'unite, inspire and relax was spot on.
Darina Hall
Asda Brand


Cannock Chase Council - Opening Ceremony of Rugeley Swimming Pool.
Your speech was inspiring and I have received many favourable comments from attendees, including many who were impressed by your honesty and how much passion you displayed for swimming and leisure in general. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and I am sure you will agree that the event was a success and enjoyed by all. Once again, thank you for your time and for providing such a professional service and speech, it was perfect for the event – we could not have asked for anything more suitable.
Stephanie Grant
Project Administrator


Society of Local Council Clerks Annual Conference – Docklands, London.
Nick's presentation was colourful, being full of photos and video footage, as he wove his way through humble beginnings through all of the inevitable hard work with a disciplined schedule. Throughout, Nick related his 'story' to the audience, offering many positive ideas as to how to succeed as well as the benefits of teamwork and praise. The Olympic medals, both silver and bronze, were 'handed around' and to everyone's surprise the heavier was the bronze! Nick also brought a Union Jack handed to him by a supporter ahead of a medal ceremony. Overall, a superb motivational start to our day, made even more special during an Olympic year!
Mike Page
National Training Manager
SLCC, The Professional Body for Local Council Managers


New Entrepreneur Scholarship Programme Graduation Evening
Thank you once again for your talk at our New Entrepreneur Scholarship Programme Graduation Evening.

“Your talk to our group of fledgling businesses was a great success. I think every person who received their certificates that evening can relate their dreams of being in business to your dreams of sporting success. You reminded everyone that having a long term goal needn't seem impossible if you consider the small achievements that can build into great success. Of all of the thousands of businesses that start up each year, only a few will continue to become successful and grow, and, like you, they will only do that if they struggle through the difficult times and stay focussed on what they can achieve”.


“I'd also like to thank you for the time you spent talking to Graduates on a one to one basis after the formal talk - you made each of them see that they deserved their success. I hope you recovered your Olympic medal safely - it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us all to handle one”.
Irene Lavender
Tyne and Wear Enterprise Trust Ltd


“Staff, parents and students have all told me today how much they enjoyed your talk. Indeed Charlie Macleod, the long-retired first deputy of Harris School, tells me it was the best speech he has heard in 41 years. I think you succeeded in helping students to understand that excellence is achievable – something that is critical to Harris’s future success.”
Sue Simms, Headteacher


“Nick has visited our school on three occasions and has done whole year group assemblies, a swimming master class, a motivational talk to the gifted and talented group, a practical BTec PE lesson and joined in with Living for Sport football and cricket sessions. The pupils at school have been spellbound by his tales of Olympic and Commonwealth Games medal winning performances as well as the dedication and effort required in order to be the best at what you do. The staff have also been enthralled by Nick's motivation and we were delighted when Nick agreed to come to our after school Sports Presentation evening and present all the certificates to the pupils. We are looking forward to our next visit next term”.
Paul Donaghy, School Sport Co-ordinator (SSCo)


“Can I take this opportunity to thank you for the tremendous contribution that you made to our conference on Wednesday. Feedback from delegates has been the best I can ever remember and much of it is down to your inspirational talk… I can assure you that we have listened to the messages that you have given us and we will act upon the wonderful opportunities that lie ahead for all of our children and young people in Bedforshire schools as we move towards 2012.”
David Doran, Director of Learning
Bedfordshire County Council


“We were excited to welcome Nick Gillingham to launch the ‘Academic Year’ for our new Sixth Form Students at St. Mary’s Sports College. It proved an inspirational start to the year, relating generic academic themes such as goal setting, independence and motivation to the theme of ‘high performance’ in a sporting context. With the Athens Olympics so fresh in Students mind, this provided an effective and appropriate beginning to our new term”.
Damian Walmsley
Director of Sixth Form
St. Mary’s Sports College