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Wally Ris

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Wally Ris
Personal information
Full nameWalter Steven Ris
Nickname"Wally"
National teamUnited States
Born(1924-01-04)January 4, 1924
Chicago, Illinois,U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 1989(1989-12-25)(aged 65)
Mission Viejo, California,U.S.
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubChicago Town Club
College teamUniversity of Iowa
Medal record
Men's swimming
RepresentingUnited States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1948 London 4×200 m freestyle relay
RepresentingIowa
NCAA
Gold medal – first place 1948 Ann Arbor 100-yard freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1949 Chapel Hill 100-yard freestyle

Walter Steven Ris(January 4, 1924 – December 25, 1989) was an American competitionswimmer,two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder.

Ris won two gold medals at the1948 Summer Olympicsin London, England.[1]He received his first gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in themen's 4×200-meter freestyle relay,and set a new world record of 8:46.0 with American teammatesJimmy McLane,Wally Wolf,andBill Smith.[2]

At the US Olympic trials of the 1948 4x200-meter freestyle relay, several swimmers who had already qualified in other events slowed down in their heats or swam fast in the prelims and scratched themselves for the final to allow more swimmers to qualify for the US Olympic Team.[3]

Ultimately, coachRobert Kiphuthdid hold a time trial shortly after the actual trials[4]with eleven of the swimmers. This time trial hadJimmy McLaneas first overall with a time of 2:11.0,Bill SmithandWally Wolfin 2:11.2, and Wally Ris in 2:12.4. This quartet was used for the Olympic final. The next four-Eugene Rogersin 2:14.2, Edwin Gilbert in 2:15.4, Robert Gibe in 2:15.6, and William Dudley in 2:15.9, were used in the Olympic prelims.[5]The next three swimmers-Joe Verdeurwho came in 2:16.3,Alan Fordin 2;16.4 and George Hoogerhyde in 2:17.4 were not used in any capacity in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

In individual competition, he won a second gold in themen's 100-meter freestyle(57.3), finishing a half-second ahead of U.S. teammateAlan Ford(57.8).[6]

Ris was a star swimmer atCrane Technical Highin Chicago. He then attended theUniversity of Iowa,where he was a member of the Iowa Beta chapter ofSigma Alpha Epsilonand swam for theIowa Hawkeyesswimming and diving team inNational Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) andBig Ten Conferencecompetition from 1947 to 1949. He was the NCAA national champion in the 100-yard freestyle in 1948 and 1949.[7]

Ris was inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Fameas an "Honor Swimmer" in 1966.[8]

He was born inChicago, Illinoisand died inMission Viejo, California.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abSports-Reference, Olympic Sports, Athletes,Biography and Statistics at Sports Reference.Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  2. ^Sports-Reference, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1948 London Summer Games,Men's 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay Final.Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  3. ^New York Times 25 July 1948 Page S3
  4. ^New York Times 28 July 1948 Page 29
  5. ^Page 128 1948 US Olympic Book
  6. ^Sports-Reference, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1948 London Summer Games,Men's 100 metres Freestyle Final.Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  7. ^"Iowa Swimming and Diving - Men's All-Americans and NCAA Champions"(PDF).Retrieved2023-11-25.
  8. ^"Wally Ris (USA)".ISHOF.org.International Swimming Hall of Fame.Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedMarch 6,2015.
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