LOS ANGELES, California, January 2. ROY Saari, a former world record-holding swimmer who won a gold medal at the 1964 Olympics and captured nine NCAA individual titles at USC, died Tuesday (Dec. 30) in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. He was 63.
Saari was part of the USA's gold medal-winning 800-meter freestyle relay team at the Tokyo Olympics, where he also took home a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley. He also competed in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles in Tokyo, placing fourth and seventh, respectively.
He set 4 world records in his career, including swimming the first sub-17-minute 1500-meter freestyle (16:58.7).
The captain of the 1966 USC men's swimming team as a senior, he lettered 3 years (1964-66) as the Trojans won the NCAA team championship each year. His 9 NCAA individual titles - a school record that lasted a decade until John Naber won 10 - came in the 200 freestyle (1965-66), 440 freestyle (1964), 500 freestyle (1965-66), 1650 freestyle (1964-65-66) and 200 individual medley (1964). He also was a member of 2 NCAA-winning relay teams (the 400 medley relay in 1964 and the 400 freestyle relay in 1966).
He won 8 Pac-8 and 17 AAU individual and relay titles. He won gold medals in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles at the 1963 Pan Am Games.
He also was a 3-year letterman in water polo at USC (1963, 1965-66), winning All-American honors each season.
He prepped at El Segundo (Calif.) High, where his father Urho "Whitey" Saari was the swimming and water polo coach. His brother, Robert, was a member of the USA's 1964 Olympic water polo team, which was coached by Urho Saari.
Saari was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1976, the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1982 and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
After his swimming career, Saari became an attorney and then a real estate agent and planning commissioner in Mammoth Lakes.
He is survived by his wife, Sheryl, daughter Joani Lynch, son Jeff and several grandchildren.
Services are pending.
Special thanks to USC for contributing this report.
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January 2, 2009 I think I might be way off in this, but would I have read that he was also one of the youngest ever male national champs, either at AAU nationals or Long distance swimming nationals? And at like 13 yrs old? Submitted by: Park528
January 3, 2009 I am sad about Roy Saari's death. We were teammates at the Tokyo Games, and on the 800 free relay. He was one of the toughest swimmers I ever competed against, and could have been the Tokyo star with Don Schollander with four gold medals, if he had swum true to form. I think he had the flu, and that was the only "bad meet" I ever saw him swim.I was one of his victims at the NCAA's in 1965 --200 freestyle where he outkicked me on the last 25 yards. My Yale swim coach 43 years later still swears that I should have won that race -- but for Roy Saari.
/Steve Clark Submitted by: sancho.mudflower
Reaction Time responses do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions
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