Duncan Goodhew is a famous British swimmer and sport advocate who medalled at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
And he is dyslexic.
He struggled with reading and literacy from a young age, though his dyslexia was not diagnosed until his teens.
He has said in interviews that “dyslexia made me feel as if I was drowning in the classroom. Competitive swimming was my lifeline.”
He still remembers the terror he felt at being asked to stand up and read in front of the class. He felt like an outcast because of his reading difficulties, and because he was bald by the age of 13 due to an injury he sustained. But he took to the pool like he’d always belonged there.
“I was bald and dyslexic, and at my prep school they offered me swimming as a way of re-building my life. I was a bit of a handful in those days. Swimming helped me to grow in confidence.”
And that confidence took him all the way to the top. After swimming competitively in America, he represented Britain at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow where he won Gold and Bronze medals.
Today he spends his time support charity work and promoting sport in schools across the UK.
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Sarah Forrest is a Reading Specialist for Oxford Learning Solutions, publishers of the Easyread System. Easyread is an innovative online program designed for children with dyslexia, auditory processing disorders, visual learning styles, and more. www.easyreadsystem.com
