James CARTER

Scotsman Jimmy Carter made his Olympic debut at the age of 15 in Munich and went on compete at three Olympic Games though he only reached one final, the 4 × 100 metres medley relay at Montreal. His only individual medal at a major championship came in 1974 when he placed second in the 1500 m freestyle at the European Championships but, as a regular member of the national relay team, he also added bronze medals at the 1975 World Championships and 1977 European Championships. At the Commonwealth Games he qualified for six finals in his two Games appearance but failed to collect a medal. During his career Carter trained in Scotland, Australia and finally at the University of California at Berkeley.

His international swimming career came to an ignominious end at the Moscow Olympics when he sent home by the British team management after reports of rowdy behaviour. He and fellow swimmer Gary Abraham were allegedly in a drunken state when they were involved in a food fight at the food hall at the Olympic village then attempted to break into the Irish team quarters to pick a fight with one of their boxing team.

Carter settled in California after he graduated and became a chef. He opened his own restaurant, the Meal Ticket, in Berkeley in 2001.