Swimmer, 79, refuses to throw in the towel
medal-winner ken insists he won’t give up, despite heart drama
Published:
A MEDAL-WINNING pensioner who travels to the north-east every year to train for swimming competitions has vowed to return to the water despite being told to give it up after he nearly died.
Ken McKay, 79, had to be resuscitated after collapsing while doing the thing he loves most in the world, swimming.
He became ill while training for a 1,500m race in his home town of Hamilton and was rescued and revived by pool attendants.
Doctors later told him he had suffered a heart murmur and advised him to give up swimming and lead a “normal” life.
“I remember having my hands on the side of the pool and I have no recollection after that,” he said.
“The next thing I remember was racing along in the ambulance.
“The bottom line is my heart has been damaged and if I lead a normal life I won’t need surgery.”
Mr McKay has been competing for 60 years, has won 482 medals and says he will not stop going to the pool.
“My wife and I were swimming before we could walk,” he said.
“I’m not going to be competing any more but I don’t want to die of boredom.
“If I go to the baths, by the time I talk to my friends I often won’t have reached the water anyway.
“It’s a social thing.
“I cannot do without swimming – it’s programmed into me.”
Every summer Mr McKay and his wife, Elenor, 75, travel to Stonehaven to train in the town’s outdoor swimming pool.
“I have been coming to Stonehaven every year since I was born and I will still come,” he said.
“I can never get over the surprise and pleasure when you jump in expecting it to be cold and it’s lovely and warm.
“It’s a great experience.”
Mrs McKay, the last Scottish female swimmer to win a medal at the Olympics in 1952, said: “I went to the hospital not knowing what had happened. I’m so glad he didn’t have a stroke.
“I can swim farther and longer than I can walk.
“I think we will be back in the pool next week.”
