| Gary O'Toole | |
| Fullname: | Gary Charles O'Toole |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Strokes: | Breaststroke, Medley |
| Birth Date: | 1968 8, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Ireland |
| Weight: | 73kg (161lb) |
Gary O'Toole is a retired Irish Olympic swimmer. He represented Ireland at the Seoul and Barcelona Games.[1]
While studying at University College Dublin, O'Toole won a 200 m breaststroke silver medal at the 1989 European Long Course Championships in Bonn. He also won a gold medal at the World University Championships in 1991 when representing University College Dublin and UCD. He helped to break 5 National relay records, including Short Course and Long Course.[2]
As a prominent member of the Irish Amateur Swimming Association, O'Toole had been approached to make representations on behalf of the victims of the George Gibney scandal.[3] Gibney, who coached O'Toole until he became aware of these allegations, criticised O'Toole publicly during the 1992 Olympics. His complaints were ignored and led to a major investigation into the incidents and ultimately to the disbandment of the IASA and the creation of Swim Ireland.[4]
Since his retirement from professional swimming, O'Toole has been a practising Orthopedic surgeon with a specialist interest in adult arthritis (both hip and knee) and knee sports injuries. He also has a keen interest in musculoskeletal cancer (bone and soft tissue tumours).[5] He continued to provide expert analysis for RTÉ Sport's Olympic swimming coverage.[6] [7]