Michelle Cassidy
US Men's Diving 1948
United States divers Bruce Harlan, Miller Anderson and Sammy Lee placed Gold, Silver, and Bronze, respectively for the 3 meter springboard at the London Olympics in 1948. Lee won Gold for the 10 meter springboard event and Harlan received the silver medal.
Four diving events were contested at the London Olympics in 1948.
The competitions were held from Friday July 30, 1948 to Friday August 6, 1948.
Bruce I. Harlan was born on January 2, 1926 and died on June 22, 1959. He was a diver from the United States and Olympic champion.
Harlan was a high school wrestler and pole vaulter in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and served in the United States Navy during World War II. Harlan coached diving at the University of Michigan from 1954 to 1959. On June 21, 1959 he took part in a diving exhibition in Fairfield, Connecticut. While helping to dismantle the scaffolding of the diving tower, Harlan fell 27 feet to his death.
Harlan was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1973.
Miller Altman Anderson was born December 27, 1922 and died on October 29, 1965. He won his first national diving championship in 1942, in the 3-meter springboard. A flyer during World War II, he was forced to parachute from his plane on his 112th mission, and his left leg was severely injured. A silver plate was inserted into his knee, and he had to learn to dive all over again after the war.
Anderson won the NCAA 3-meter championship who represented Ohio State, the national 1-meter championship, and the national 3-meter championship in 1946, 1947, and 1948. He also won silver medals in the springboard event at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. Anderson was the first to perform a forward one-and-a-half somersault with two twists and a backward one-and-a-half with one twist.
Dr. Samuel "Sammy" Lee was born August 1, 1920 in Fresno, California. He is the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States. He also was the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving.
When Lee was 12 years old in 1932, he dreamed of becoming a diver. However, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans were only allowed to use the pool once a week. Because he 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. Lee practiced by jumping into the pit.
Lee won a bronze medal in springboard diving in the 1948 games. His accomplishments were not limited to the athletic field. Lee was a student-athlete at 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, which is awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He went on to coach Olympic divers including Pat McCormick, Bob Webster, and Greg Louganis. He is a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame.
A landmark, the Sammy Lee Square, at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in Los Angeles' Koreatown was named after him.
Four diving events were contested at the London Olympics in 1948.
The competitions were held from Friday July 30, 1948 to Friday August 6, 1948.
Bruce I. Harlan was born on January 2, 1926 and died on June 22, 1959. He was a diver from the United States and Olympic champion.
Harlan was a high school wrestler and pole vaulter in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and served in the United States Navy during World War II. Harlan coached diving at the University of Michigan from 1954 to 1959. On June 21, 1959 he took part in a diving exhibition in Fairfield, Connecticut. While helping to dismantle the scaffolding of the diving tower, Harlan fell 27 feet to his death.
Harlan was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1973.
Miller Altman Anderson was born December 27, 1922 and died on October 29, 1965. He won his first national diving championship in 1942, in the 3-meter springboard. A flyer during World War II, he was forced to parachute from his plane on his 112th mission, and his left leg was severely injured. A silver plate was inserted into his knee, and he had to learn to dive all over again after the war.
Anderson won the NCAA 3-meter championship who represented Ohio State, the national 1-meter championship, and the national 3-meter championship in 1946, 1947, and 1948. He also won silver medals in the springboard event at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. Anderson was the first to perform a forward one-and-a-half somersault with two twists and a backward one-and-a-half with one twist.
Dr. Samuel "Sammy" Lee was born August 1, 1920 in Fresno, California. He is the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States. He also was the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving.
When Lee was 12 years old in 1932, he dreamed of becoming a diver. However, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans were only allowed to use the pool once a week. Because he 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. Lee practiced by jumping into the pit.
Lee won a bronze medal in springboard diving in the 1948 games. His accomplishments were not limited to the athletic field. Lee was a student-athlete at 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, which is awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He went on to coach Olympic divers including Pat McCormick, Bob Webster, and Greg Louganis. He is a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame.
A landmark, the Sammy Lee Square, at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in Los Angeles' Koreatown was named after him.
Date & Place:
at Olympic Village in London, England United Kingdom
