Name/Title
Print, PhotographicEntry/Object ID
1241Description
Bob Martin’s athlete credentials for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Martin was born in Tacoma in 1925 and learned to love the water through his time on Commencement Bay. He graduated from Stadium High and attended the University of Washington. Martin served in the Navy during World War II and spent time in the Pacific fighting Japanese forces. He finished his business degree after the war and qualified for the London Games with UW teammates Warren Westlund (Olympia), Bob Will (Seattle), Gordy Giovanelli (Everett) and Allan Morgan (Seattle). The rowers competed in eight-man shells at the UW and had never competed in the coxed four until the 1948 Olympic trials. They won the trials and went on to beat Switzerland by three seconds to claim gold at the Olympics. The men remained friends for the rest of their lives and purchased British Columbia’s small Octopus Island together and used it often for family vacations. Martin spent his working career at Weyerhaeuser, were he retired in 1982 as the vice president of special products. He died in Gig Harbor in 2012 at the age of 87.Lexicon
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Olympics, College, Amateur, Rowing, IdentificationRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Martin, BobPerson or Organization
Martin, RobertRelated Events
Event
1948 Summer Olympics