Although Downie was born in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, his father was Scottish[2] and he swam for Great Britain, Scotland, and the Warrender Baths Club in Edinburgh.[3][4] While attending the University of Michigan on an athletics scholarship, he swam for the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team in collegiate competition.[5][6]
Downie represented Great Britain at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia where he broke the Scottish record for the 200-metre freestyle.[3] The next year he represented Scotland at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1975 he swam for Scotland at the 8-nations tournament in Prague, Czechoslovakia.[3] and won a silver medal at the 1975 World Championships in Cali, Colombia as part of the British 4x200-metre freestyle relay with Alan McClatchey, Gary Jameson, and Brian Brinkley. At the same championships he won a bronze medal as part of the British 4x100-metre medley relay with David Wilkie, James Carter and Brian Brinkley.[7] Apart from winning his bronze medal, he was sixth in the 200-metre freestyle at the 1976 Montreal Olympics when he set a British record that stood for six years.[8] He swam in the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden, and represented Scotland in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[2][3][6] Downie held both the Scottish 200-metre and 400-metre freestyle records for 10 years from 1972 to 1982.[8]
He won the 1975 ASA National Championship 100 metres freestyle title, the 1979 200 metres freestyle and the 400 metres freestyle in 1977.[9][10]
Downie was inducted into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2014.[8]
Downie graduated with a medical degree from Northwestern University in 1986.[11] In 2004 Downie was a doctor (pulmonologist) at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University[2] and in 2014 he was practicing in Mount Pleasant, Texas at the Titus Regional Medical Center.[11] He specialises in lung cancer clinical and research work.[8]
Great Britain
Scotland
Great Britain
Scotland
