Sammy Lee (Olympian 1948-1952)
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Diving Info > Diving Stars of the Past > Sammy Lee   Sammy Lee (Olympian 1948-1952) Sammy Lee (Olympian 1948 - 1952)   Click here to view pictures of Sammy Tribute to Sammy Lee Back then Born Fresno, CA on Aug.1,1920 whose father immigrated to the U.S. in 1905 from Seoul, Korea. Club: Pasadena Athletic Club, Pasadena, CA. Coach: James Fredrick Ryan Education: Yorkdale Grammar School, Luther Burbank Jr. H.S., Franklin H.S. in Highland Park, Calif. B.S. Occidental College graduated 1943 M.D. University of Southern California Medical School 1947 Residency 1949-1952 in Oto-rhino-laryngology at Letterman Army Hospital, San Francisco 1955 Board Certified by the American Board of Otorhinolaryngology Date married October 1, 1950. Just had our 56th! Married Rosalind Wong but known as ROZ Diving Accomplishments 1940 & 1944 Named on 1940 & 1944 Mythical U.S. Olympic Diving Team 1942 Won Senior Outdoors AAU 3m. springboard and 10m. platform 1946 Won the Senior Outdoor AAU 10m. Championship & 3rd on 3m. springboard while interning at Orange County Hospital, California. 1948 London Olympics Gold 10 meter platform Bronze 3m. springboard 1952 Helsinki Olympics Becomes 1st male diver to win back to back Olympic diving gold medals exactly on his 32nd birthday making him the oldest person to win diving gold. Special Awards 1953 1st person of color to win the James E. Sullivan Award as America's Outstanding Amateur Athlete. 1954 Sports Ambassador to Southeast Asia for 3 months giving diving exhibitions and speeches on Olympic's Pursuit of Excellence & American freedom. 1956 Presidential Representative to the Melbourne Olympics for President Eisenhower 1966 named the outstanding American of Korean Ancestry by the Korean American Society & the Korean American Coalition. 1972 Presidential Representative to the 1972 Munich, Germany Olympics for President Nixon. 1988 Presidental Representative to the 1988 Seoul, South Korea Olympics for President Reagan. 1990 Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame 2006 Honorary Sports Ambassador for Sourth Korea's city of Pyeongchang's Olympic Bid Committee for the 2014 XXII Winter Olympics! They are confident I will be around to see their Games. I was selected as one of the 10 All Time Physician Athletes of all time along with Roger Bannister who broke the 4' mile, and Dr. Spock, etc.  The "WHOSAM (who the heck is Sammy Lee) Award The'WHOSAM (who the heck is Sammy Lee) was established from funds raised in a testimonial dinner in his honor in Orange County, Calf. during the 1984 Los Angeles, Olympics in the US and Roz has invested the funds and give a $1,000.00 each to a diver, and to a coach or diving volunteer exemplifies sportsmanship and artistry of our sport. Recipients have to be non-drinkers(drunks), no smoking, and no drugs.   Recipients of the WHOSAM have been: 1985-86 Greg Gunn University of Princeton Diving Coach Kent Ferguson 1986-87 Jim Sillson Wendy Lucero 1987-88 Jeff Huber Mark Bradshaw 1989-90 Joel O'Connel....Joel returns money since she is a closet smoker what an honest champ Scott Donie 1988-89 Dave Parrington Pat Evans 1990-91 Charlie Casuto Matt Scoggins 1991-92 Dick Kimball Dave Burgering Krista Wilson Mary Ellen Clark 1992-93 Ron O'Brien Janae Lautenschlager 1993-94 Cynthia Potter Hong Ping Li 1994-95 Janet Ely Gabriel Brian Earley 1995-96 Don Leas Kevin McMahon 1996-97 Dick Wilson Jeff Shaffer 1997-98 Kuni Schulz Steve Voellmecke 1998-99 Joe Chirco Jay Lerew 1999-2000 Chuck & Sherel Knesel Keith Russell 2000-01 Ken Armstrong Gloria Thompson 2001-02 Kimiko Hirai Soldati Rachel Kunkle 2002-03 Laura Wilkinson Rick Schavone 2003-04 Caesar Garcia Ida Wilson 2004-05 Tom Gomph Justin Wilcox 2005-06 I was in Korea missed giving it out will probably do it in 2006-07 giving out 4 at that time! Coaching Accomplishments 1960 Official U.S. Olympic Diving Coach with Phil Moriarity.... Coached Bob Webster who won Gold 10m. platform and Paula Jean Meyers Pope who won silver 10m. 1964 Coached Bob Webster who won his 2nd Gold 10m. Platform, and U.S. Cultural Affairs Office sent me to Tokyo to help the Korean divers. I adopted the Swedish diver Lundquist, Denmark's Soren Svestrup and the woman diver Kirsten Velin. 1976 At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Coached Greg Louganis to a Silver medal 10m platform and 4th on 3m. springboard.Greg won the Olympic tryouts on both springboard & tower in 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1988.     Lives in: We live in Huntington Harbour, Huntington Beach, Calif. Insights on Sammy Lee's Live     What other divers and coaches have you kept in touch with throughout the years?   Through out the years I have kept in touch with Hobie Billingsley, Frank Gorman, Tom Harrabedian, Lyle & Vicki Draves, Bob Webster, Hong Ping Li, Klaus Dibiasi, Horst Gorlitz, Bob Wilhite, Kim Pearman, Phil Moriarity. At what age did you start diving?   Started my Olympic dream at age 12 when L.A. hosted the 1932 Los Angeles, USA Olympics . What was your favorite dive and your hardest dive?   My favorite dive was the fwd. 3 1/2 tuck. Put in the book. To me the hardest dives were the back 2 1/2 and rev. 2 1/2...never eye spotted. Too scared! I closed my eyes and opened and looked when I finished somersaulting! Who was your favorite Coach?   My favorite coach was Jim Ryan although I think he had a tinge of sadism. He taught Dick Smith and me the fundamentals of take off and body control What is your favorite part of diving as a sport?   My friendship with such legends as Miller Anderson, Dutch Smith, Farid Simaika, Hobie, and Phil Moriarity, and great others that I would name then I might miss someone I love like a brother. DIVING WAS MY COMFORT BLANKET-MY PILL TO GET RID OF DEPRESSION...whenever I did poorly on medical exams I would go and dive because while diving I forgot about my failures. In those days, did divers receive any money or compensation after winning a big meet?   The only money we got was when I dived at the Detroit pool for Pinkston he gave me some cash...a hundred dollars...we were lucky to get 5 bucks for gas money or a free meal! The honor of being a U.S. Olympian was honor enough we never ever thought of money as an incentive. In today's world money is the source of incentive which both the Russians and Chinese implemented and Nike so they have added monetary rewards equal to the color of your medal. Our never received money for winning does not bother me. But I was a 1st. Lt. in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1948, and a Major in 1952!..... Back then, what was better in the sport of diving?   In the good old days our companion ships after the competition was over made life-time friends. I hope the young divers will have the same. What do you think is better now?   Ray Rude's maxiflex diving boards has standardized springboard diving. In the old days the wooden boards and coco matting would be soaked and the day of competition you did not get the lift off the board. The dives the younger divers are doing blows me out of my mind. Whoever thought from the 1 mtr. board they are doing one more flip, 2 more twists than we ever dreamed of from the 3 m. board! Of course the Buck Board was an improvement over the wooden boards. What did you miss the most when you retired from the sport of diving?   Yes, I have missed going to the Moscow, Barcelona, & Sydney Olympics & hope to go to Beijing. What could or should be improved in the Diving World as we know it today?   I think that there should be at least one compulsory dive drawn out of a hat that each finalist must do! What is your best memory about your years in diving?   I recall in 1948 getting our uniforms which consisted of one pair. trunks, one warm up cotton, one pair. shoes and $7 for laundry money! I recall asking Joaquin Capilla of Mexico where did you get your nice sweats? He said they were made in the U.S.A. We could not work as a locker boy or girl according to Avery Brundage's rules....we would be taking advantage over anyone who did not have access to the pool 24 hours/day.The honor of being a U.S. Olympian was honor enough we never ever thought of money as an incentive. Did you get to travel internationally, and do you think that travelling is important to young divers?   We never got to travel internationally, in our days it took too long! No jets. Traveling globally for our youngsters get to do is great they are our sports ambassadors. If you had the chance to “do it all, all over again”, would you? What would you do different?   No, I would not change my pursuit of the Olympic gold while in pre-med and medical school.... Yes, if I had to do it all over again I would marry Roz sooner so I could enjoy my kids and grandkids sooner & longer. What is the most important “feature” a diver needs in order to “make the Olympic Team”   The most important thing a diver must do is have a consistent take off for a perfect orbit & vertical entry and, in practice, if it is off , go for the dive better to have 1/2 point rather than a 0! Never balk! What would be the best advise you could give young divers today?   My advice to the young divers today is to set an example of sportsmanship & artistry....be the kind of person you would like to have as a brother, sister and take care of your mind and body by not taking steroids, alcohol, and negative thinking.... Remember the last 2 words in AMERICAN,  IT IS "I CAN!"