Kevin Boyd, OH 1975-84 followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Steven Boyd, OH 1973-82, to study at Hymers College.  Unlike many of the sporty boys at Hymers College at that time, his passion wasn't rugby but swimming.  During their time at school, both brothers received praise for their strong swimming from Junior School teacher, Terry Glenville, OH Staff 1971-2002, himself a Commonwealth Games swimming silver medallist.

The Hymerian, 1977

Growing up, Kevin swum locally, alongside his brother, with Hull Olympic Swimming Training Club from 1973 to 1984 and represented Hymers in many local swimming leagues.  During this time at Hymers, he had many swimming successes, including third in 1977 in the National Age Group Medallist U11 100m Backstroke, he was the Yorkshire Individual Medley Champion for 1977 and in 1979, he represented GB Age Group International U13 in 4x200m Freestyle relay in West Germany.  His achievements were, of course mentioned in The Hymerian during his time at the school.

The Hymerian, 1980

The Hymerian, 1982

The Hymerian, 1984

Kevin left Hymers College to study Medicine at University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the next six years.  However, that did not stop his swimming, as he joined the Borough of South Tyneside Swim Club and was selected for the British Swimming Team in 1984.  He competed in Madrid in the World Championships 1986 and at the Commonwealth Games 1986 in Edinburgh, he was second in the 400m Freestyle and third in the Freestyle Relay.  In 1988, he competed in the European Cup Short Course Championships in Edinburgh, coming first in the 400m Freestyle and first in the 1500m Freestyle, becoming the first Briton to break 15 mins for the event!

The Hymerian, 1985

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Kevin competed in the 400m Freestyle and the 1500m Freestyle, finishing 7th in both finals. He was also a member of the British men's squad that competed in the qualifying heats of the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.  In the 1988 Guinness Book of Records he appeared as holding the world record for the 400, 800 and 1500 metres freestyle.

Between 1979 and 1990, he represented GB and England on 50 occasions and competed in 7 Commonwealth, 17 British and 21 English Senior Records.

He graduated from University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1990 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and promptly stopped swimming, as it was not compatible with a 96 hr/week junior doctor contract!  He continued his surgical training in Newcastle and Nottingham, gained a diploma in Sports Medicine Royal Colleges of Scotland in 1992 and a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1995.  He was appointed Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in 2003.  He specialises in sports injuries of the knee, shoulder, and foot and ankle problems including surgery for exercise related lower limb pain and tendinopathies.

He now teaches at Leicester University Medical School and trains postgraduate doctors in Orthopaedic Surgery and Sport & Exercise Medicine, and has been embedded within the Department of Sport & Exercise Medicine as part of a multi-disciplinary team since 2006.

Although no longer competing in swimming, Kevin has volunteered and supported British Swimming and Swim England in many roles for 30 years, including Chief Medical Officer roles at World Swimming Championships (25m) in Manchester 2008 and European Aquatics Championships London in 2016.  From 2010-2023, he completed three terms as member of World Aquatics Sports Medicine committee, attending 3 more Olympic Games (London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020) and 7 World Aquatics Championships.

On a personal level, Kevin is married to Jane, a General Practitioner, whom he met at medical school and they have two grown up children; Tessa working in Sheffield and Patrick working in London.  He returned to Hymers College in 2004 to officially open the new Hymers College Swimming Pool, alongside Headmaster at the time, John Morris (OH Staff 1980-2006, Headmaster 1990-2006), Head of Physical Education, Chris Fitzpatrick (OH Staff 1980-2016) and Stephen Martin (former Chairman of the Governors).

More recently, Kevin kindly spoke to our Year 7 students who were researching famous Olympians ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics.  He spoke to them about his first memory of an Olympic Games in 1972, when he was about six years old and remembering his Dad watching the gymnastics, being picked for the British Junior Team in 1983, becoming the British Number One in 1984 during his last year at Hymers College, and studying for his A Levels at the same time as trying to be selected for the Olympics that year.  He wasn't successful at that time but continued his training while studying medicine.  He discussed his journey from there to eventually becoming successful in getting on to the Olympic Team and his memories from that time, including the Opening Ceremony.