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(Sept. 3, 1932- Oct. 10, 2017). Olympic gymnast Sandra Ruddick John was born Sandra Marlene Anderson to Frank and Mary Adkins Anderson in Indianapolis. She graduated from Broad Ripple High School in 1950 and trained in gymnastics with Turners under coach, Walter Lienert. She married Robert Ruddick Jr. on March 27, 1951, with whom she had two children.
In April 1956, she competed in the Central States (AAU) meet, which doubled as the Olympics trials, in University Park, Pennsylvania. Though she suffered a shoulder injury during competition, she led all female competitors by a wide margin to become the AAU’s national female gymnastic champion. She took first place in the uneven parallel bars, side horse vault, and the women’s all-around event, with a score of 71.85 points out of a possible 80, qualifying her to represent the United States at the 1956 Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia.
In the history of the Olympics, the 1956 event was only the second time that women’s gymnastics was included as an Olympic sport. At age 23, she was the oldest member of the team; she was also uncommonly tall for a gymnast, standing 5’ 9”. Another Indianapolis gymnast with Athenaeum Turners, Muriel Davis (later Muriel Grossfeld) also qualified. Their coach, Walter Lienert, attended the Olympics and judged the men’s gymnastics, though he was prohibited, as a man, from coaching them on the floor during the women’s competition. Ruddick finished first among the Americans competing, though U.S. women gymnasts did not score highly—Ruddick finished 51st overall, and the United States team finished in 9th place.
After the competition, she made numerous community appearances, including receiving the key to the city from , alongside other Indianapolis members of the 1956 U. S. Olympic team: swimmer , swimmer Mary Ann Marchino, and Muriel Davis in December 1956.
Ruddick continued to compete after the Olympics. In May 1957, she was narrowly beaten by Muriel Davis, who went on to win the women’s all-around at the National AAU gymnastics meet. It was a close competition; Ruddick won side horse vaulting and uneven parallel bars to score 74.80, while Davis won in calisthenics and the balance beam exercise, scoring 75.10.
On August 14, 1957, Sandra M. Anderson Ruddick married John Wright in Indianapolis. In 1958, she missed the National Senior AAU women’s gymnastics competition because she was expecting her third child. She went on to teach dance at the Lawrence Township YMCA and judged gymnastics competitions for Athenaeum Turners.
She also worked as a dancer, notably being the first female dancer arrested in Indianapolis for dancing topless at the Shindig Tavern at 1619 Prospect Avenue in 1967. Arrested twice, once on January 8, 1967, and again on January 18, 1967, she requested and received a jury trial. During her trial, she argued that she was not topless. She wore pasties during her performance, which she classified as a type of interpretive dance many people in Indianapolis already viewed when traveling outside the state. She offered to demonstrate the style of dance for which she was arrested, however, Municipal Court Judge John C. Christ denied the request. She was ultimately acquitted of all charges. Judge Christ recommended new ordinances be drafted to specify what type of clothing performers may wear on stage and to clarify the definition of obscenity.
A few months after her acquittal in March 1967 for dancing topless at the Shindig Tavern, she married car salesman Leo Bernard Wieczorek of Indianapolis on April 8, 1967. The marriage ended in divorce within a year.
Using the name Sandra Ruddick, she did not stay in Indianapolis permanently. She toured the Midwest with United Service Organizations (USO) shows, relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, and by 1974, was touring 45 weeks out of the year with her act that was part dance, part gymnastics. Her travels brought her to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where she met chef Alfred John through her agent. He became her fourth husband on January 28, 1976, and Wilkes-Barre became her permanent home. They remained married for the rest of her life.
In July 2012, Sandra M. John was inducted into the Indiana Gymnastics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class. During her life, she underwent eight back surgeries and suffered from intense joint pain, but despite the physical toll the sport took on her, she retained her lifelong interest in gymnastics. She died after an illness in Wilkes-Barre.
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