Wally Ris
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| Full name | Walter Steven Ris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Wally" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 4, 1924 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 25, 1989 (aged 65) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Virginia Lee Ris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Chicago Town Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Iowa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | David Armbruster (U. of Iowa) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Walter Steven Ris (January 4, 1924 – December 25, 1989) was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder.
He was born one of three brothers in Chicago, Illinois to Russian immigrant parents on January 4, 1924.
Ris was a star swimmer at Crane Technical High in Chicago. He attended the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the Iowa Beta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and swam for the Iowa Hawkeyes swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Big Ten Conference competition from 1947 to 1949. At Iowa, where he graduated in 1949, he was mentored and trained by Hall of Fame Coach David Armbruster, and was the NCAA national champion in the 100-yard freestyle in 1948 and 1949.