Mark Tewksbury
Swimming Athlete - Inducted 1993
Mark Tewksbury won thirteen National Swimming Championships. He started competing at the age of eight with Calgary's Cascade Club where he still holds four club records. He was a dominant force on the international scene, being ranked fourth or better from 1986 onward. He set a world record in the 100m backstroke (short course) in 1992 with a time of 52.50 seconds. Mark Tewksbury won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics and set a record for the 100m backstroke at 53.98 seconds. He pushed the Canadian Men's Relay Team to a bronze medal win in the 4 x 100m medley, earning his second Olympic medal and the third of his career. He is a Canadian, Commonwealth, Olympic, and World Record holder.
After Induction
1995 - Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame inductee
1996 - Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inductee
1999 - International Olympic Committee (IOC) Site Inspection Commission – athlete representative, and then turned critic in
2000 - International Swimming Hall of Fame
2005 - Alberta Centennial Salute for Sport and Recreation Award - celebrating 100 individuals
2006 - Co-president of the first World Outgames
2008 - Toronto’s Olympic Bid committee executive member
2008 - CBC Swim Analyst at the Beijing Olympic Games
2012 - Chef de Mission 2012 Summer Olympic Games
2013 - Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee Member (announced November 21, 2013)
Humanitarian awards & accomplishments
- University of Western Ontario Honorary doctorate of laws degree
- University of Calgary – Honorary doctorate of laws degree - co-founded OATH (Olympic Advocates Together Honorably), an athlete-led movement for the spirit of ethical sport
- Q Hall of Fame (in Canada)
- LGBT Human Rights Halls of Fame
- Championed the causes of sick children
- Championed the causes of Special Olympians,
Other:
- Keynote and motivational speaker
- Authored three books, including one with his business partner Debbie Muir.
- Hosted a number of TV shows including the first season of “How It’s Made”.
