1948 Olympic Swimming Medalist Ris Dies

Two-time Olympic gold-medal winner Walter Ris, 65, died of an apparent heart attack in his sleep Monday at his home in Mission Viejo.

Ris won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle in the 1948 London Olympics in 57.3 seconds, beating teammate Alan Ford by a half-second. Ris’ time was an Olympic record that stood until 1956.

He also anchored the 4x200 freestyle relay gold-medal winners who swam the event in 8 minutes 46 seconds, also then an Olympic record.

From 1946-49, he was considered among the fastest swimmers in the world, winning nine national indoor championships in 100-meter and 100-yard events, and five consecutive national indoor Amateur Athletic Union titles. He was the NCAA swimmer of the year as a member of the team of the University of Iowa, from which he graduated in 1949.

Ris is a member of the Helms Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was recently inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame.

One of three brothers, he was born in Chicago on Jan. 4, 1924. His parents had left the Soviet Union during the Bolshevik Revolution. Fluent in Russian, he accompanied the Nadadores swim team of Mission Viejo on its trip to the Soviet Union early in this decade.

He is survived by wife, Virginia Lee Ris, sons Jeff and John Ris and daughter Julie Ris of Mission Viejo and son Greg Ris of Redmond, Wash.

Funeral arrangements are pending.