Quick Facts
Original name:
Samuel Rhee
Born:
August 1, 1920, Fresno, California, U.S.
Died:
December 2, 2016, Newport Beach, California

Sammy Lee (born August 1, 1920, Fresno, California, U.S.—died December 2, 2016, Newport Beach, California) was an American diver, the first Asian American man to win an Olympic gold medal and the first diver to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the platform event.

While growing up, Lee, the son of Korean immigrants, faced racial prejudice and was permitted to use his community’s public pool only one day a week—the day that all nonwhite children could swim before the pool was drained and cleaned. As a student at Occidental College (Los Angeles), Lee won national AAU championships in both the 3-metre springboard and 10-metre platform events in 1942. Standing only 5 feet 1 inch (155 cm) tall, Lee utilized his short stature in his dives, tucking tighter and turning faster than his opponents.

After graduating from Occidental in 1943, Lee entered the University of Southern California Medical School and briefly retired from diving. However, he returned to competition in 1946 and again won the national AAU championship in the platform event. After earning an M.D. degree in 1947, Lee joined the U.S. Army, serving in the medical corps during the Korean War.

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Lee continued diving, and at the 1948 Olympic Games in London he won a bronze medal in springboard and performed an astonishing three and a half forward somersaults to win the platform event. Although he rarely competed over the following four years, he qualified for the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki and once again took gold in the platform event. The following year Lee retired from competitive diving.

Lee subsequently focused on his medical career, practicing as an ear, nose, and throat specialist. However, he remained involved in diving, coaching the 1960 U.S. Olympic team and the 1964 Japanese and Korean squads. He also trained gold medalists Bob Webster and Greg Louganis. The recipient of numerous honours, Lee was awarded the 1953 James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding U.S. amateur athlete. In addition, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1968) and into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (1990). His book, Diving, was published in 1979.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

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A Diver Visited a Fallen Whale. When He Returned, It Was Gone. May 5, 2025, 1:22 AM ET (New York Times)

diving, sport of plunging into water, usually head foremost, performed with the addition of gymnastic and acrobatic stunts. In its more elaborate, acrobatic form, diving originated in Europe early in the 19th century as a diversion of gymnasts and as a competitive sport in the late 19th century. It became a part of the swimming program of the Olympic Games in 1904 and developed rapidly through the first half of the 20th century. Synchronized diving, a competition in which two divers simultaneously perform a dive, emerged and became part of the Olympic program in 2000.

In competition, dives are performed from a firm platform 5 or 10 meters (16.4 or 32.8 feet) above the water or from an elastic springboard 1 or 3 meters high. In Olympic contests only the 10-meter platform and 3-meter springboard are used. Dives performed in competition are listed, together with a rating of their degree of difficulty of performance, in a table published by the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (International Amateur Swimming Federation; founded 1908 and from 2023 called World Aquatics), the world governing body of amateur aquatic sports. Contestants are required to do certain of the listed dives, as well as several of their own choice. At least three but not more than 10 judges score each dive, with attention paid to takeoff, bearing of the body in the air, execution of the prescribed movements, and entry into the water. The scores for each dive are totaled and multiplied by the degree of difficulty. The diver with the highest total score for all dives at the end of the contest is the winner. In the springboard competition, men make 17 dives, women 15. Platform events require 16 dives from men and 14 from women. In synchronized competitions, participants make 10 dives and are judged on their synchronicity with each other as well as their individual execution of the dive.

Competitive dives are divided into five groups, with the addition of arm-stand dives done from fixed platforms only. The first includes the forward dives, in which the person faces the water, dives out from the edge of the board or platform, and rotates forward one-half or more turns before entering the water. The second comprises the backward dives, in which the diver stands at the edge, facing away from the water, then springs and rotates backward. The third is the reverse group, in which the diver takes off in the forward position but then reverses spin toward the board. In the fourth group, the inward dives, the diver stands on the edge of the platform and springs backward but rotates forward, again toward the board. The fifth classification is that of the twisting dives, in which the diver rotates the body on its long axis while performing one of the other four types of dives—as in a forward 11/2 somersault with 3 twists. The five voluntary dives comprise one selected from each group.

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The majority of dives included in the roster may be executed in three distinct positions: straight, pike, or tuck. In the straight position, the body is held extended, with no flexion at the hips or knees. In the pike position, there is a bend at the hips but no knee flexion. In the tuck position, both hips and knees are flexed and the body resembles a ball. The most complicated dives may be done in free (any) position, a loose but graceful combination of the others.

Men’s world diving championships

Winners of the men’s world diving championships are provided in the table.

World diving championships—men
year 1-m springboard 3-m springboard platform
1973 P. Boggs (U.S.) K. Dibiasi (Italy)
1975 P. Boggs (U.S.) K. Dibiasi (Italy)
1978 P. Boggs (U.S.) G. Louganis (U.S.)
1982 G. Louganis (U.S.) G. Louganis (U.S.)
1986 G. Louganis (U.S.) G. Louganis (U.S.)
1991 E. Jongejans (Neth.) K. Ferguson (U.S.) Sun Shuwei (China)
1994 E. Stewart (Zimb.) Yu Zhuocheng (China) D. Sautin (Russia)
1998 Yu Zhuocheng (China) D. Sautin (Russia) D. Sautin (Russia)
2001 Wang Feng (China) D. Sautin (Russia) Tian Liang (China)
2003 Xu Xiang (China) A. Dobrosok (Russia) A. Despatie (Can.)
2005 A. Despatie (Can.) A. Despatie (Can.) Hu Jia (China)
2007 Luo Yutong (China) Qin Kai (China) G. Galperin (Russia)
2009 Qin Kai (China) He Chong (China) T. Daley (U.K.)
2011 Li Shixin (China) He Chong (China) Qiu Bo (China)
2013 Li Shixin (China) He Chong (China) Qiu Bo (China)
2015 Xie Siyi (China) He Chao (China) Qiu Bo (China)
2017 Peng Jianfeng (China) Xie Siyi (China) T. Daley (U.K.)
2019 Wang Zongyuan (China) Xie Siyi (China) Yang Jian (China)
2022 Wang Zongyuan (China) Wang Zongyuan (China) Yang Jian (China)
2023 Peng Jianfeng (China) Wang Zongyuan (China) C. Rousseau (Austl.)
2024 O. Olvera Ibarra (Mex.) Wang Zongyuan (China) Yang Hao (China)
year synchronized 3-m springboard synchronized platform
1998 China China
2001 China China
2003 Russia Australia
2005 China Russia
2007 China China
2009 China China
2011 China China
2013 China Germany
2015 China China
2017 Russia China
2019 China China
2022 China China
2023 China China
2024 China China

Women’s world diving championships

Winners of the women’s world diving championships are provided in the table.

World diving championships—women
year 1-m springboard 3-m springboard platform
1973 K. Köhler (E.Ger.) U. Knape (Swed.)
1975 I. Kalinina (U.S.S.R.) J. Ely (U.S.)
1978 I. Kalinina (U.S.S.R.) I. Kalinina (U.S.S.R.)
1982 M. Neyer (U.S.) W. Wyland (U.S.)
1986 Gao Min (China) Chen Lin (China)
1991 Gao Min (China) Gao Min (China) Fu Mingxia (China)
1994 Chen Lixia (China) Tan Shuping (China) Fu Mingxia (China)
1998 I. Lashko (Russia) Y. Pakhalina (Russia) O. Zhupina (Ukr.)
2001 B. Hartley (Can.) Guo Jingjing (China) Xu Mian (China)
2003 I. Lashko (Austl.) Guo Jingjing (China) É. Heymans (Can.)
2005 B. Hartley (Can.) Guo Jingjing (China) L. Wilkinson (U.S.)
2007 He Zi (China) Guo Jingjing (China) Wang Xin (China)
2009 Y. Pakhalina (Russia) Guo Jingjing (China) P. Espinosa (Mex.)
2011 Shi Tingmao (China) Wu Minxia (China) Chen Ruolin (China)
2013 He Zi (China) He Zi (China) Si Yajie (China)
2015 T. Cagnotto (Italy) Shi Tingmao (China) Kim Kuk-Hyang (N.Kor.)
2017 M. Kenney (Austl.) Shi Tingmao (China) Cheong Jun Hoong (Malay.)
2019 Chen Yiwen (China) Shi Tingmao (China) Chen Yuxi (China)
2022 Li Yajie (China) Chen Yiwen (China) Chen Yuxi (China)
2023 Lin Shan (China) Chen Yiwen (China) Chen Yuxi (China)
2024 A. Koloi (Austl.) Chang Yani (China) Quan Hongchan (China)
year synchronized 3-m springboard synchronized platform
1998 Russia Ukraine
2001 China China
2003 China China
2005 China China
2007 China China
2009 China China
2011 China China
2013 China China
2015 China China
2017 China China
2019 China China
2022 China China
2023 China China
2024 China China
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Will Gosner.