imported>Jevansen: Removing from Category:Sportspeople from Snohomish County, Washington using Cat-a-lot

2025-01-25T09:33:58Z

Removing from Category:Sportspeople from Snohomish County, Washington using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|American rower (1936–2002)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{MedalTableTop}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]]}}
{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Rowing at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]]|[[Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's eight|Eight]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Rome]]|[[Rowing at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's coxless four|Coxless four]]}}
{{MedalBottom}}

'''Richard "Rusty" Donald Wailes''', a.k.a. ''Perfect Oarsman'' (March 21, 1936 in [[Edmonds, Washington]] – October 11, 2002 on [[Lake Washington]]) was an American rower.

Wailes began [[sport rowing]] when he entered [[Yale University]] in the fall of 1954. Within two years he was part of the [[gold medal]]-winning eight-man U.S. team at the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]]. Wailes and his Yale teammates represented the United States in the 1956 Olympic team after defeating other collegiate teams in the eight-man Olympic trial. At the Olympic trials Wailes and his crewmates set a world record in 5 minutes, 52 seconds.

Wailes's crews defeated Harvard four consecutive years in the [[Harvard–Yale Regatta]]. Wailes was heavyweight crew captain his senior year.<ref>"Rusty Wailes won 2 Olympic golds in rowing, won hearts as volunteer", [[The Seattle Times]], October 26, 2002, by line Peter Lewis</ref> The athletic department bestowed upon Wailes the 1958 William Neely Mallory Award, the most prestigious athletic award given to a senior male at Yale.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yalebulldogs.com/information/traditions/awards/Mallory_award |title=William Neely Mallory Award - Yale Bulldogs |website=www.yalebulldogs.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605223301/http://yalebulldogs.com/information/traditions/awards/mallory_award |archive-date=2015-06-05}}</ref>

Rusty earned again Olympic Gold as part of the four-man coxless crew at the [[1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Games]] in [[Rome]]. That team included John Sayre and two other rowers, Ayrault and Nash, from other colleges at the Lake Washington Rowing Club. They won the [[Pan American Games]] in 1959 and then went off to the Olympics in Rome.

Rusty, his wife, Lynne, and John Sayre, were a part of the original group, 'Sing-Out 65,' which became [[Up With People]]. John and Rusty, along with their respective wives, Pat Sayre and Lynne Wailes, had been members of the [[Moral Re-Armament]] show 'Space is so Startling' (recording year, 1962). Rusty then became Dean of Men at [[Mackinac College]], which was located on the [[Mackinac Island]] site where Sing-Out had formed. Mackinac College was dedicated to training students who were 'Learning to Learn, Learning to Live, and Learning to Lead.'

On October 11, 2002, Rusty Wailes, who lived in [[Woodinville]], WA, died of a heart attack while rowing on Lake Washington.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Olympic champions – Men's coxless four}}
{{Olympic champions – Men's eight}}{{Pan American Champions – Men's coxless four}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wailes, Richard}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:American male rowers]]
[[Category:Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Edmonds, Washington]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing]]
[[Category:Rowers at the 1959 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in rowing]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

Rusty Wailes - Revision history

imported>Jevansen: Removing from Category:Sportspeople from Snohomish County, Washington using Cat-a-lot