Sammy Lee (diver)

Dr. Samuel "Sammy" Lee (August 1, 1920 – December 2, 2016) was an Korean-American diver. He was the first Asian-American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States in 1948.Steve Almasy:  After 60 years, Olympians are fast friends again, CNN.com, 22 Aug 2008

Lee was born in Fresno, California. He was raised in San Francisco, California. Lee studied at the Occidental College in Los Angeles and studied briefly at the University of Southern California.

He was also the first man to win gold medals "back-to-back" in Olympic platform diving. This means he won a second gold medal for the same event in the next Olympics, in 1952.

Lee, who suffered from dementia and heart disease, died of complications from pneumonia on December 2, 2016 at his home in Newport Beach, California, aged 96.

References

Other websites
 Sammy Lee on hickoksports.com 
 Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story  written by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Dom Lee, (LEE & LOW BOOKS, 2005), . The inspirational true story of Sammy Lee, a Korean American who overcame discrimination to realize both his father’s desire that he become a doctor and his own dream of becoming an Olympic champion diver.
 Sammy Lee's profile at Sports Reference.com 

Category:1920 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:American divers
Category:Sportspeople from San Francisco
Category:Sportspeople from Fresno, California