Mark Tewksbury

Mark Tewksbury is a Canadian former swimmer who won Olympic gold in the 100m backstroke at the 1992 Barcelona Games with a dramatic come-from-behind victory, and later became a prominent LGBTQ rights advocate.

Mark Tewksbury trailed American Jeff Rouse by half a body length at the turn in the 100-meter backstroke final at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, then powered through the last 25 metres to win gold in an Olympic record 53.98 seconds — by the exact 0.06-second margin Rouse had beaten him a year earlier at the World Championships. He joined Canada's national swim team at 16 in 1984, and improved his 100m backstroke world ranking from 54th to fourth within a year of his international debut in 1985. Tewksbury made his Olympic debut at the 1988 Seoul Games, finishing fifth individually but helping Canada win silver in the 4x100m medley relay. He continued developing under coach Deryk Snelling at the University of Calgary, adding an underwater dolphin kick to improve his weaker starts and turns after a narrow loss to American Jeff Rouse at the 1991 World Championships. Tewksbury's signature moment came at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he trailed Rouse by half a body length after the turn in the 100m backstroke final before powering through the final 25 metres to win gold in an Olympic record time of 53.98 seconds, edging Rouse by 0.06 seconds — the same margin by which Rouse had beaten him the year before. He also won bronze in the medley relay, and was named Canada's Lou Marsh Trophy winner as national athlete of the year. Tewksbury retired in 1992 with 21 Canadian national titles, and went on to a career as a broadcaster, author, and motivational speaker, publicly coming out as gay in the late 1990s and becoming a prominent advocate for LGBTQ rights and mental health awareness. He served as Chef de Mission of Canada's Olympic team at London 2012 and was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in 2020.

Backstroke specialist renowned for a powerful finishing kick and late-race surges

A national hero for his Olympic triumph, later a prominent broadcaster and advocate for LGBTQ rights and mental health

• Olympic gold, 100m backstroke (1992)
• Olympic silver, 4x100m medley relay (1988)
• Olympic bronze, 4x100m medley relay (1992)
• 4x Commonwealth Games gold
• Lou Marsh Trophy winner (1992)