Rick Colella

Rick Colella

Personal information
Full name	Richard Phillip Colella, Jr.
Nickname(s)	"Rick"
National team	United States
Born	(1951-12-14) December 14, 1951 Seattle, Washington
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	181 lb (82 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Club	Totem Lake Swim Club
College team	University of Washington
Medal record Men's swimming Representing the United States Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 200 m breaststroke World Championships (LC) 1975 Cali 4x100 m medley 1975 Cali 200 m breaststroke 1973 Belgrade 400 m medley Pan American Games 1971 Cali 200 m breaststroke 1975 Mexico City 100 m breaststroke 1975 Mexico City 200 m breaststroke 1975 Mexico City 4x100 m medley 1975 Mexico City 400 m medley 1971 Cali 400 m medley Universiade 1970 Turin 200 m breaststroke 1970 Turin 400 m medley

Richard Phillip Colella, Jr. (born December 14, 1951)^[1] is an American former breaststroke swimmer who represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1972.

Colella's sister Lynn was also a competition swimmer and Olympian. In 1971, he and his sister were co-winners of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Man of the Year award.^[2]

Colella finished fourth in the final of the men's 200-meter breaststroke at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, he finished third and received the bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, his signature event.

Colella and his wife Terry have raised four children, Elise, Mariel, Brian and Angie. For the past seven years, the Colellas have dedicated themselves to raising money for research to find a cure for facioscapulohumeral disease (FSHD), a common form of muscular dystrophy that affects their son Brian. They formed FSH Friends, an organization that they run out of their home. They work to raise money and put on an annual auction gala that takes place in the end of January. They've also co-sponsored local workshops, bringing researchers together from around the world, to help move the research forward.^[3]

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of University of Washington people
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)

References

1972 USA Olympic swimming team
Men's team	Robin Backhaus Tom Bruce Mike Burton Mark Chatfield Rick Colella Gary Conelly Rick DeMont David Edgar Dave Fairbank Steve Furniss Steve Genter Gary Hall Jerry Heidenreich John Hencken Mitch Ivey Brian Job John Kinsella Tom McBreen Tim McKee John Murphy Doug Northway Mark Spitz Mike Stamm Fred Tyler
Women's team	Susie Atwood Shirley Babashoff Jane Barkman Jenny Bartz Melissa Belote Cathy Carr Claudia Clevenger Lynn Colella Ellie Daniel Deena Deardurff Jo Harshbarger Jenny Kemp Ann Marshall Judy Melick Barbara Mitchell Karen Moe Mary Montgomery Sandy Neilson Kim Peyton Keena Rothhammer Dana Schoenfield Dana Shrader Ann Simmons Lynn Skrifvars Lynn Vidali Carolyn Woods Jenny Wylie

1976 USA Olympic swimming team
Men's Team	Jack Babashoff Joe Bottom Mike Bruner Rick Colella Casey Converse Lawrence Dowler Bill Forrester Bruce Furniss Steve Furniss Brian Goodell Steve Gregg Bobby Hackett Gary Hall, Sr. Dan Harrigan Paul Hartloff John Hencken Bob Jackson Charles Keating Tim McKee Jim Montgomery John Naber Doug Northway Peter Rocca Tim Shaw Rod Strachan Matt Vogel Chris Woo
Women's Team	Shirley Babashoff Melissa Belote Wendy Boglioli Brenda Borgh Lelei Fonoimoana Maryanne Graham Jeanne Haney Janis Hape Kathy Heddy Jennifer Hooker Linda Jezek Nicole Kramer Renee Laravie Renee Magee Marcia Morey Kim Peyton Lauri Siering Miriam Smith Jill Sterkel Karen Thornton Tauna Vandeweghe Wendy Weinberg Donna Lee Wennerstrom Camille Wright
Staff	John Bogert Doc Counsilman (men's head coach) Lawrence Dowler Frank Elm Carolyn Finneran Don Gambril George Haines Jim Montrella Jack Nelson (women's head coach) Charlotte Piper Albert Schoenfield