LOS ANGELES, California, November 18. A new Los Angeles school designed to cultivate the next generation of doctors and scientists will feature the name Sammy Lee, one of the most successful divers in American history.
Lee, now 93, was on hand last week for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Dr. Sammy Lee Medical/Health Science Magnet Elementary School, located not far from the University of Southern California, where he earned his M.D. in 1947. The elementary school features a curriculum heavy on science and medicine, with the goal of creating “critical thinkers in a cooperative, global society.”
Lee is the first Asian-American to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport, doing so on the 10-meter platform in 1948 and again in 1952. He also collected a bronze on the 3-meter springboard in 1948. The Korean War put an end to his diving career, and he put his medical degree to use, serving in the Army Medical Corps.
A few decades later, he became a renowned diving coach, with Greg Louganis counted as his greatest success.