Bob Lord

After finishing third in the ASA 110 yards freestyle in both 1963 and 1964, Bobby Lord was selected for four events (two individual, and two relay) at the Tokyo Olympics. He only reached one final, however, as a member of the Great Britain 4x100 metres freestyle relay team when they finished seventh behind a world record winning performance from the USA.

Lord won his only ASA title in 1965, but did so in style by breaking the national 110 yards freestyle record with a time of 55.2 that stood for three years. In winning the title, he was the only British male to win one of the 12 titles on offer at the 1965 Championships. Lord also set a new 220 yards mark in 1965 and the following year he enjoyed his finest moment internationally when he won a bronze medal with the GB 4x110 yards freestyle relay squad at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Kingston, Jamaica. As a “veteran”, at the age of 26 in 1971, Lord helped Warwickshire win the Midland Inter-Counties trophy for the sixth successive year.