Mark Lutz

He had all the makings of an Olympic champion: talent, determination and an unwavering will to win. A fierce opponent - one of his pre-race rituals was to spew a mouthful of water into his competitor’s lane - he became one of Canada’s most prominent international swimming stars by the age of eighteen. He was also proudly patriotic, sporting a tattoo of the Canadian maple leaf on his chest. Dubbed the "enfant terrible" of the Canadian team, the driven and dynamic swimmer was as well known for his out-of-pool explosiveness as for his three world records and four Olympic medals. Yet it was this fascinating combination that made the mercurial Victor Davis one of the most compelling and complex Canadian athletes of his era.

The compelling story of a great Canadian hero—a working class kid who through sheer determination overcame both physical and psychological challenges to reach the ultimate pinnacle of his sport, becoming a World Record holder and an Olympic gold medal champion at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In November 1989, just a few months after retiring, Davis was struck by a hit-and-run driver outside a suburban Montreal nightclub. He died two days later but his spirit lived on in the six people who received his heart, both cornea, liver and kidneys. Davis was named to the Order of Canada and voted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. In his memory, The Victor Davis Memorial Award was established to provide bursaries to needy Canadian swimmers, and more than 60 athletes have benefited since its creation. Sunday, January 13, 2008, 8:00 p.m.