John Welchli

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John Richard Welchli (born March 6, 1929) is an American athlete gifted with startling self-discipline and a passion for rowing.. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal at the Melbourne Olympics for the coxless four. He also has about 32 Canadian and U.S. national gold medals. Welchli, a Brown University graduate from 1950, is one of rowing's most accomplished figures. He is still seen rowing his Empacher single, and is an annual entry in Boston's Head of the Charles. Welchli was nominated in 1996 as a Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit Free Press. His credited as an outstanding citizen of Detroit and Michigan.

Dick Bell, who trains the young rowers at the Detroit Boat Club now, cite Welchli's outsized role in helping to keep the Detroit Boat Club's rowing program alive. Welchli was always a huge presence mentoring younger crews after winning the Olympic silver medal; he couldn't even disappoint former coach Ken Blue when the club's lightweight team, beaten only by Harvard, had a shot at taking the English Henley.

The team practiced 12 times a week in 1960, and Welchli lived in Parma, just outside Jackson. Welchli worked his Jackson day job as a stockbroker, then drove the 90 miles every evening to make late practice at the club, slept in Grosse Pointe, and back on the water at 5:30 a.m., and then, when most of the rest of Detroit was just rising, would drive the 90 miles back to work.

"People talk about teamwork and timing but no sport has them like rowing. In basketball, if you're off a bit, there's a second chance. None of that in rowing! A tenth of a second is an eon, and everybody has to do the exact same thing at the exact same time." - John Welchli

He routinely advises high school kids with ambitions for the best colleges to get into crew.