Lee, Sammy

▪ American athlete

in full  Samuel Lee  

born Aug. 1, 1920, Fresno, Calif., U.S.

      American diver, the first male athlete to win two Olympic gold medals in the platform event.

      In 1942, while a student at Occidental College (Los Angeles), Lee won his first national championship with victories in both the 3-metre springboard and 10-metre platform events. Standing only 5 feet 1 inch, Lee utilized his short stature in his dives, tucking tighter and turning faster than his opponents. When he entered the University of Southern California Medical School, he briefly retired from diving, but he returned to competition in 1946 and again won the national championship in the platform event. After his graduation in 1947, Lee joined the U.S. Army. He continued diving, and at the 1948 Olympic Games in London he won a gold medal in the platform competition and a bronze in the springboard.

      After the Olympics, Lee turned his attention to medicine, serving as a doctor in the Korean War. He rarely competed over the next four years but nevertheless qualified for the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Fin. In Helsinki, Lee won the gold medal in the platform, becoming the first male athlete to win two gold medals in that event. The following year he was awarded the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as outstanding U.S. amateur athlete.

      In 1953 Lee retired from competitive diving, but he remained involved in the sport, coaching the 1960 U.S. Olympic team and the 1964 Japanese and Korean squads. He also trained gold medalists Bob Webster and Greg Louganis. In 1968 Lee was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. His book Diving was published in 1979.

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