Commonwealth Games 2018: 1982 champ Tracey Wickham honoured to present 400m freestyle medals

IN 1982, Queen Elizabeth II hung the 400m gold medal around a delighted Tracey Wickham’s neck. Thirty-six years on, it will be Wickham who has the honour of presenting the gold medal for the cherished event.

POOL queen Tracey Wickham will have the rare honour of presenting the gold medal for the cherished Commonwealth Games event in which was feted by royalty.

The heady bonus for the Gold Coast-based swimming legend is that she will likely get to anoint the Brisbane schoolgirl attacking the distance freestyle races she once dominated.

Wickham is a big fan of rising star Ariarne Titmus, 17, and not just because she is swimming the 400m and 800m freestyle on the Gold Coast from next week.

Queen Elizabeth presents Tracey Wickham with her gold medal.

“I’m really thrilled for her that she gets to swim in front of family and friends at a home Commonwealth Games just as I did in 1982 in Brisbane,” Wickham, 55, said.

“I love the way she attacks her races ... she gets out ahead and stays there like I did.

“Her best years are ahead.

“You can sense a killer instinct and I’d really love to be presenting a gold medal to an Aussie.”

FLASHBACK: Wickham’s emotional final swim

News Corp Australia can reveal the London-based Commonwealth Games Federation approached Wickham to present the gold medal for the 400m freestyle on the final night at the pool on April 10.

She has gleefully accepted.

Tracey Wickham shows off her effortless stroke.

In 1982, Queen Elizabeth II hung the 400m gold medal around a delighted Wickham’s neck after a tearful victory lap for the final race of her stellar career.

“The whole occasion felt like the pinnacle to me,” Wickham said.

“I still get a buzz if I ever see the finish of that race on TV ... I was blubbering, swimming another lap to wave to family and friends and everyone.

“I’m so thrilled with this honour because I get to take along my son Daniel who has never seen me before in a swimming world scenario.”

Wickham with her Commonwealth gold medal.

It is rare for former athletes, without official roles in national Olympic or Commonwealth Games bodies, to be ushered in as medal presenters.

It’s a wonderful reflection of how lasting is the Wickham legend.

The 1978 world record for the 400m freestyle, that she set as a teenage pool sprite, was one of the most enduring in the history of swimming and lasted for more than nine years.

Originally published as Commonwealth Games 2018: 1982 champ Tracey Wickham honoured to present 400m freestyle medals