ROY SAARI, the WEBMASTER'S MOST FAMOUS OPPONENT
This page remembers the webmaster's close encounter with Roy Saari, one of the world's best during the 1960s.
The time: August 1965
The place: Dinamo Olympic Pool, Bucharest, Romania
The occasion: Romanian National Championship Finals
In August 1965, immediately after the World University Games hosted by Hungary, six American world-class swimmers were
invited to participate "hors concours" (not officially part of the competition) in the Romanian National Championship Finals.
Among the guests, four Olympic champions: Gary Ilman, Carl Robie, Dick Roth, and Roy Saari.
Seeing the world's elite in action - not to mention sharing the locker room with our idols - has had a lasting impact on ILSA's
star-struck team of young swimmers (no one older than eighteen, webmaster was fifteen).
Swimming in lane four, the Americans won all their events, with one notable exception. The honor of beating a top American
swimmer went to ILSA's own Koszta Laci, who along with Bucharest's Angel Sopterian, defeated Tom Tretheway in the
100 meter breaststroke event.
Summary of Roy Saari's Athletic Achievements
Olympic Trivia
The Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 was possibly the only time a father and his two sons participated in the same Olympics.
Urho Saari, the father, coached the USA water polo team, while sons Bob and Roy made the water polo and swim teams, respectively.
Roy Saari Update
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Sadly, Roy Saari passed away in January 2009. The photo shows Roy with his wife, Cheryl. |