Walter Steven "Wally" Ris was an American competition swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and held world records. Born in Chicago to Russian immigrant parents, he swam at Crane Technical High School and then for the University of Iowa under Hall of Fame coach David Armbruster, winning the NCAA 100 yard freestyle title in 1948 and 1949. At the 1948 Games he won the 100 metre freestyle in 57.3 seconds, half a second ahead of his teammate Alan Ford, and swam on the United States 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay that set a world record of 8 minutes 46.0 seconds with Jimmy McLane, Wally Wolf and Bill Smith. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966 and died in California in 1989.
Facts
Medals or Titles Band Connections
Competed In
Source Wally Ris (Wikipedia)
Plays
Source Wally Ris (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wally Ris (Wikipedia)Lead, nationalityQuote, Lead, nationality
was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder
Sources
1. Wally Ris (Wikipedia)
1948 London Olympics, medal count
Ris won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.
Lead
(January 4, 1924, December 25, 1989)
Lead, nationality
was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder
Competed In: 1948 Summer Olympics, 1948 London Olympics
Ris won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.