Saari, Roy A.
Swimming
b. Feb. 25, 1945, Buffalo, NY
The son of a swimming and water polo coach, Saari grew up in California and starred in both sports as a high school student. At the University of Southern California, he won nine NCAA individual championships, a record at the time.
His titles came in the 200-meter freestyle in 1965 and 1966; the 500-meter and 1,650-meter freestyles from 1964 through 1966; and the 200-meter individual medley in 1964. Saari also swam on two championship relay teams.
Saari won the AAU outdoor 1,500-meter freestyle in 1961 and 1963 and was the indoor champion at 440 yards in 1962, 500 yards in 1963, 1,500 meters in 1962, and 1,650 yards from 1963 through 1965.
The first swimmer to break the 17-minute barrier for 1,500 meters, Saari won gold medals in the 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle races at the 1963 Pan-American Games. He won a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley and was a member of the gold medal 4 by 200-meter freestyle relay team at the 1964 Olympics.