Richard Weiss

Richard Alfred Weiss (September 18, 1963 – June 25, 1997), known as Rich Weiss, was a West German-born, American slalom kayaker who competed from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. He won a silver medal in the K1 event at the 1993 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Mezzana.

Weiss also competed in two Summer Olympics, earning his best finish of sixth in the K1 event in Atlanta in 1996. His finish in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona was mired in controversy when the television replay showed a judge's error cost him a bronze medal.

He drowned in a kayaking accident on the White Salmon River in Washington state in 1997. Preparing for a race with a friend, he unsuccessfully attempted to run Big Brother, a Class-V rapid with a 30-foot waterfall. His wife, Rosi, gave birth soon afterwards to a boy whom she named "River". The accidental death of a world-class paddler was the subject of much reflection and soul-searching in the whitewater community. The town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado dedicated a park, with a statue, in his honor.

World Cup individual podiums

SeasonDateVenuePositionEvent 1988 19 June 1988 Wausau 3rd K1 1991 25 Aug 1991 Minden 1st K1 1 Sep 1991 Wausau 2nd K1