{{Short description|Australian sprinter (1977–2010)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox sportsperson | birth_name = David Scott Baxter | nationality = | residence = | birth_date = {{birth date|1977|03|27|df=yes}} | birth_place = Melbourne, Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|2010|07|02|1977|03|27|df=yes}} | death_place = | height = | weight = | country = {{flagu|Australia}} | sport = Athletics | event = Sprinting | club = | medaltemplates = {{MedalCompetition|Commonwealth Games}} {{Medal|Bronze|2002 Manchester|4x100 m}} }} '''David Scott Baxter''' (27 March 1977 – 2 July 2010) was an Australian athlete who competed as a sprinter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sprinter runs into trouble |url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/sprinter-runs-into-trouble-20020304-gdu0ol.html |work=The Age |date=4 March 2002 |language=en}}</ref>
==Biography== Born in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe, Baxter was one of five children born to Norman and Gillian Baxter. He attended Ivanhoe Grammar School and trained at Doncaster Little Athletics.<ref name="Champion">{{cite news |last1=Lewis & Paice |first1=Tamsyn & Cameron |title=Champion athlete cut down before finishing line |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/champion-athlete-cut-down-before-finishing-line-20100721-10l6p.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=21 July 2010 |language=en}}</ref>
In 1996, after winning the 100m and 200m national under-20 titles, Baxter represented Australia at that year's World Junior Championships and was a member of the 4 × 100 metres relay team which won a bronze medal.<ref name="Champion"/>
Baxter competed at the 1998 IAAF World Cup, 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2001 Goodwill Games and in two editions of the World University Games. Most notably in 2002, he won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in the 4 × 100 metres relay.<ref>{{cite news |title=Another golden day for Australia |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/another-golden-day-for-australia-20020801-gdfi65.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=1 August 2002 |language=en}}</ref> He had a personal best in the 100 metres of 10.30 seconds.<ref name="Champion"/>
A medical doctor, Baxter was a graduate of the University of Melbourne and also studied at Oxford University, where his areas of interest were trauma and orthopaedic surgery. He held a research position at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and was studying for a PhD at Monash University before his death from melanoma in 2010.<ref name="Champion"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{World Athletics|australia/david-baxter-14180129}} * {{CGF profile|37865}} * {{Commonwealth Games Australia|david-baxter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, David}} Category:1977 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Australian men sprinters Category:People educated at Ivanhoe Grammar School Category:Athletes from Melbourne Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Category:Competitors at the 1997 Summer Universiade Category:Competitors at the 2001 Summer Universiade Category:Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford Category:Deaths from melanoma in Australia Category:Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Category:Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics