Sammy Lee
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6857 (Published 03 January 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:i6857- Ned Stafford
- Hamburg
- ns{at}europefn.net
It was a dream come true for Sammy Lee, standing on the diving platform high above the pool at Wembley Arena in London during the 1948 Olympic Games. Lee was waiting for the whistle to blow: the signal for him to take his final dive of the men’s 10 m platform competition. In his mind’s eye, he pictured himself making a perfect dive to become the first American man of Asian heritage to win an Olympic gold medal.
Lee was born in California, the son of Korean immigrants. Growing up in Los Angeles, he had been subject to racial discrimination—one swimming pool with high quality diving boards could be used by “non-white” children only on Wednesdays. But Lee wanted to compete for the country he loved—and to honour his family’s Korean heritage.
Standing on the board in Wembley, Lee was nervous. He was just over five feet in height, 28 years old, a doctor, and a lieutenant in the medical corps of the US Army. Lee noticed two of his toughest competitors watching him. He later recalled: “I’m looking at them. I know exactly what they were thinking: ‘I hope you land flat on your ass!’ And …
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