Dr. Sammy Lee, the first Asian-American man to win an Olympic gold medal and first male diver to repeat as Olympic champion, died of pneumonia at age 96 on Friday, according to the University of Southern California.
Lee was born in Fresno, Calif., of Korean parents.
He unretired from a medical career to compete in his first Olympics in London in 1948, after the Games took a 12-year break due to World War II.
Lee earned platform gold and springboard bronze in 1948 and then retired, unretired and defended his platform title in 1952. Lee and another Asian-American, Victoria Manolo-Draves, who had a Filipino father and English mother, both won diving titles in 1948, with Draves’ springboard gold coming first.
Lee also served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War.
He succeeded despite facing racial discrimination. From TeamUSA.org:
When Sammy was growing up, non-whites could use the pool where he practiced one day a week, on Wednesdays only. And then, as he has told it, the pool would be emptied after the non-whites used it, and fresh water was brought in the next day.
When the pool was off-limits, Sammy practiced by jumping into a sand pile.
Lee went on to coach divers, including Greg Louganis, after his competitive career, and continued his medical work. He graduated from USC’s medical school in 1947.
He is a member of the U.S. Olympic and International Swimming Halls of Fame.
Follow @nzaccardi*Correction: An earlier version of this post erroneously reported Lee was the first Asian-American Olympic champion. He was the second.
