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Sammy Lee (diver)

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Sammy Lee
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born(1920-08-01)August 1, 1920
Fresno, California, United States
DiedDecember 2, 2016(2016-12-02) (aged 96)
Newport Beach, California[1]
Alma materOccidental College
SpouseRosalind Wong
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportDiving
Medal record
Men's diving
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London 10 m platform
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki 10 m platform
Bronze medal – third place 1948 London 3 m springboard

Samuel "Sammy" Lee (August 1, 1920 – December 2, 2016) was the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States[2] and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving.

File:Sammylee01.jpg
Sammy Lee at the Olympics.

Life and career

Lee was born in Fresno, California to parents of Korean descent who owned what he described as "a little chop suey restaurant,".[3] His father, who was fluent in English, Korean and tutored in French, graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Occidental College, but was unable to find work due to his Asian ancestry. He was then forced to open a chop suey restaurant and market. As a twelve-year-old living near Los Angeles, Lee saw and was motivated by the many Olympics banners and souvenirs on display for the Summer Olympics being held in Los Angeles that year. Later that summer, he found that he could do somersaults much better than all of his friends, which led to his goal of becoming an Olympic champion in diving.[4]

Lee's parents moved to Highland Park, a suburb of Los Angeles. At the time, however, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans were only allowed to use the nearby Brookside Park Plunge in Pasadena, on Wednesdays, on what was called "international day": the day before the pool was scheduled to be drained and refilled with clean water. Because Lee needed a place to practice and could not regularly use the public pool, his coach dug a pit in his backyard and filled it with sand.[5][6][7] Lee practiced by jumping into the pit.[8]

Under the tutelage of renowned diving coach Jim Ryan, Lee won the United States National Diving Championships in 1942 in both the 3-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform events, becoming the first person of color to capture the United States national championship in diving. In 1946 he again triumphed at the 10-meter platform event while finishing 3rd at the 3-meter springboard competition at the national diving competition in San Diego, California.[4] At the 1948 Summer Games in London, England, Lee earned a bronze medal in the 3-meter springboard and a gold medal in 10-meter platform diving events. Four years later, he won the gold medal in the 10-meter platform competition at Helsinki, Finland.[4]

His accomplishments were not limited to the athletic field. Lee attended Franklin High School and later was a student-athlete at Occidental College, where he received his undergraduate degree before attending the University of Southern California School of Medicine, where he received his M.D. in 1947. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea from 1953–55, where he specialized in the diseases of the ear. In 1953, while serving his tour of duty in Korea, he won the James E. Sullivan Award in 1953, which is awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.[9]

File:Sammy-in-suit-thumb-600x759-62990.jpg
Sammy serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps

All of this accomplishment, however, did not mean the end of his experience with discrimination. In 1954 he faced housing discrimination in Garden Grove, California, where he attempted to buy a home only to be told he could not, and in one case having nearby residents gather petition signatures to "disallow" or discourage him from buying in "their" neighborhood. (In the latter case, a counterpetition sought to rectify this prejudice but the discriminatory effect had been achieved and Lee looked elsewhere.)[10][11]

Following Lee's diving career, he helped coach two-time diving gold medalist Bob Webster. Later, he coached Greg Louganis, who lived with Lee’s family before winning a silver medal in platform diving at at the 1976 Olympics at the age of 16.[12] Lee also coached Olympic medalist Pat McCormick,[13] was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968, and was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990.[9][14]

A landmark, the Sammy Lee Square, at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in Los Angeles' Koreatown was named after him in 2010.[13][15][16][17] He was also honored with a spot on the Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars in 2009.[18] The Los Angeles Unified School District honored Lee by renaming Central Region Elementary School #20 as the Dr. Sammy Lee Medical and Health Sciences Magnet School in 2013.[19][20]

File:LEEWET.jpg
Sammy Lee in old age

Lee died from complications of pneumonia on December 2, 2016 at his home in Newport Beach, California, aged 96. He also had dementia and heart disease.[21] He was survived by his daughter, a son, and 3 grandchildren.[22]

References

  1. ^ Sklar, Debbie (December 3, 2016), "First Asian American Olympic gold medalist dies in Newport Beach", MyNewsLA.com
  2. ^ Almasy, Steve (August 22, 2008). "After 60 years, Olympians are fast friends again". CNN.
  3. ^ Williams, Juan; Halberstam, David (2004). My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience. Sterling. ISBN 9781402722332. OCLC 61848837. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c Aquitania, Ray E. M.D. (2011). Jock-Docs: World-Class Athletes Wearing White Coats. ISBN 9781609106126. OCLC 743113688.
  5. ^ Baker, Chris (June 16, 1990). "Physical, Spiritual Blights Are Eliminated : Swimming: Pasadena's new aquatic complex replaces an eyesore, lays to rest memories of racism for former Olympian". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Zarnow, Teryl (October 20, 2011). "Oral history? Telling it like it was". Orange County Register.
  7. ^ Ortiz, Erik (November 18, 2006). "Diver shows how guts outweigh skin: The sport's first Asian-American to win Olympic gold tells pupils about bias and athletics". Orange County Register.
  8. ^ Margolis, Jane (2008). Stuck In the Shallow End: Education, Race and Computing. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. ISBN 9780262260961. OCLC 792730600.
  9. ^ a b McFadden, Robert (December 3, 2016), "Sammy Lee, First Asian-American to Earn Olympic Gold, Dies at 96", The New York Times
  10. ^ "Fair Housing In the Cold War Era". California State University, Fullerton. April 28, 2011.
  11. ^ "Special Educational Panel Discussion Covering Fair Housing in Orange County During Cold War Era" (PDF). Fullerton Arboretum. May 4, 2011.
  12. ^ Nelson, Valerie J. (December 3, 2016), "Asian American to win Olympic medal, dies at 96", The San Diego Union Tribune
  13. ^ a b Crowe, Jerry (May 30, 2011). "Lee never let racism block his march to diving glory". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "Sammy Lee One of Seven Inducted Into U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame : Diving: Huntington Beach doctor, who won gold medals in 1948 and '52, makes a splash during induction ceremony". Los Angeles Times. July 7, 1990.
  15. ^ "LA Square Named After Korean-American Diver". KBS World. August 6, 2010.
  16. ^ Sung-woo, Chun (August 9, 2010). "Sammy Lee Square dedicated in L.A. to honor diving legend". Korea Herald.
  17. ^ "City Council 10-1231" (PDF). Los Angeles City Council. July 22, 2010.
  18. ^ Tully, Sarah (May 26, 2009). "Sammy Lee gets a star and, he jokes, a headstone". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "LAUSD starts new school year with promise, excitement". Los Angeles Daily News. August 13, 2013.
  20. ^ Plummer, Mary (May 15, 2013). "New name for South LA school 'Diego Rivera Learning Complex' flies under the radar". KPCC.
  21. ^ "Diving Legend Sammy Lee Passes Away At Age 96", Swimming World, December 3, 2016
  22. ^ Nelson, Nathan Fenno, Valerie J. "Sammy Lee, diver who became first Asian American to win Olympic medal, dies at 96". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved December 4, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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