Richard "Rusty" Donald Wailes, a.k.a. ''Perfect Oarsman'' (March 21, 1936 in

Edmonds, Washington Edmonds is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located in the southwest corner of the county, facing Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located ...

– October 11, 2002 on

Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...

) was an American rower. Wailes began

sport rowing Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

when he entered

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in the fall of 1954. Within two years he was part of the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

-winning eight-man U.S. team at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. 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 The Harvard–Yale Regatta or Yale-Harvard Boat Race (often abbreviated The Race) is an annual rowing race between the men's heavyweight rowing crews of Harvard University and Yale University. First contested in 1852, it has been held annually si ...

. Wailes was heavyweight crew captain his senior year. The athletic department bestowed upon Wailes the 1958 William Neely Mallory Award, the most prestigious athletic award given to a senior male at Yale. Rusty earned again Olympic Gold as part of the four-man coxless crew at the 1960 Games in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. 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 The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

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 Up with People (UWP) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Up with People stages song and dance performances promoting themes such as multiculturalism, racial equality, and positive thinking. Critics, including some former Up with P ...

. John and Rusty, along with their respective wives, Pat Sayre and Lynne Wailes, had been members of the

Moral Re-Armament Moral Re-Armament (MRA) was an international moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman headed MRA for 23 years until his death in 1961. In 2001, the movement was renamed I ...

show 'Space is so Startling' (recording year, 1962). Rusty then became Dean of Men at

Mackinac College Mackinac College was a private liberal arts college which opened on Mackinac Island, Michigan, in the fall of 1966 and closed four years later in 1970. The college taught courses in biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, modern languages, thea ...

, which was located on the

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

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 Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is east of Bothell. Woodinville has waterfront parks on the Sammamish River, a wine ...

, WA, died of a heart attack while rowing on Lake Washington.

References

External links

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