Swiss rower Rico Bianchi competed throughout the 1950s primarily in the fours. Bianchi had his first success at the 1951 European Rowing Championships when the Swiss crew won silver in the coxed fours. This earned him a place at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics where Switzerland won silver in the same race, finishing second to Czechoslovakia. Further medals came at the European Championships with bronze in the coxed fours in 1953 and a bronze in the coxless fours in 1954. Six years later Bianchi returned to the Olympics as part of the eight crew at the Roma Games, but the Swiss team were eliminated in the repêchage. Bianchi was 94-years-old when he died in March 2025.
Switzerland