A true Lancashire lad, Clive Rushton was born in Rochdale and swam for the local swimming club, one of the longest running in Britain, having been formed in 1868. In 1966 he had the honour of becoming the first swimmer from the town to compete in the ASA finals, and the following year made his international début for Great Britain against the Netherlands at Blackpool. By the end of the 1960s, Rushton had won the English 110 yard and 220 yard backstroke titles, and in 1970 he represented England at the Commonwealth Games with a best finish of fifth in the 200 metres back. Nevertheless, he continued winning titles and breaking records, and was honoured with the captaincy of the Great Britain swimming team at the 1972 Olympics. Shortly after the Munich Games, Rushton announced his retirement at the age of 25, and qualified as a PE teacher and set about learning the science of swimming which led to him becoming one of the great coaches which resulted in him obtaining some crucial coaching roles in Great Britain and across the world. Over the years he was instrumental in coaching more than 200 international swimmers, and was a member of the coaching staff for British teams at many international tournaments, including the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He took up a coaching position in Canada in 1990 and then to Greece where he twice won the Greek sports medal of coaching distinction, in 1996 and 1997. Rushton also coached in the Far East before settling to live in Bali with his family, and it was where he died in 2017. Clive’s son Tom was also a top swimming coach at the time of his father’s death.
Great Britain