Nickname(s) "Rick" Club Totem Lake Swim Club Weight 82 kg Height 1.85 m | Role Olympian National team United States Name Rick Colella | |
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Full name Richard Phillip Colella, Jr. Born December 14, 1951 (age 72) ( 1951-12-14 ) Seattle, Washington Olympic medals Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke | ||
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Richard Phillip Colella, Jr. (born December 14, 1951) 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 an Olympic swimmer. In 1971 Richard and Lynn won the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Man of the Year award.
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.