(C) U.S. State Dept This story was originally published by U.S. State Dept and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Sammy Lee (1920-2016): Olympic Champion and Goodwill Ambassador [1] [] Date: 2021-05-14 09:23:56-04:00 Video Caption: Lee’s winning dive for his second gold medal at the 1952 Olympics. Video Courtesy Swimming Hall of Fame Youtube. “Sammy Lee of Los Angeles, Occidental College, and the U.S. Army Medical Corps… He is a living testament before the peoples of the world to equality of opportunity in America” — Narration from 1952 Olympics Newsreel. In 1953, Lee became the first person of color to win the James E. Sullivan Award , the Amateur Athletic Union’s award for the nation’s best amateur athlete. In the 1948 London Olympics, Lee won the gold medal in platform diving. During the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he was serving as a physician in the Korean War but the Army granted him one month’s leave to train and represent the United States. Lee was the first diver to repeat as a gold medal winner in the same event. He continued to train throughout his education and military service and won several national titles, ultimately making it onto the U.S. Olympic Diving team. While attending Occidental College as a student-athlete, Lee entered into an Army Student Training Program in 1942. Through the program, he secured tuition payment for his medical education. Lee would study at the University of Southern California School of Medicine while serving in the U.S. Army Reserves. A sympathetic local coach, Jim Ryan, took on Lee as a student. He taught Lee to dive in a sandpit, which Lee later credited with strengthening his legs. However, his local public pool only allowed racial minorities on Wednesdays, which were called “international days.” These restrictions severely limited Lee’s ability to train. Having watched the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics as a boy, Sammy Lee dreamed of becoming an Olympic diver. Sammy Lee: The Diving Diplomat In 1954, while on leave from the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea, Lee represented the United States as a U.S. Department of State goodwill ambassador. Through the State Department, Lee traveled to Japan, India, Sri Lanka (at the time known as Ceylon), Pakistan, Turkey, Singapore, Vietnam, Burma, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Lee had the Army Medical Corps’ full support to represent the United States as a cultural diplomat. As Major General Leonard D. Heaton of Walter Reed Army Medical Center said in approving Sammy’s leave from the Army, “I am sure that your presence will mean more than many bullets, tanks, and so forth.” Sammy Lee was one of the first Asian American goodwill ambassadors to counter Soviet and Chinese Cold War propaganda about the United States. While Lee spoke about his achievements, he also addressed how the United States people and their government were acknowledging discrimination and working to address racism. As a Department of State goodwill ambassador, Lee gave diving exhibitions for fans and aficionados and classes for local divers. As a physician, he also visited hospitals and medical schools. U.S. embassies often had to improvise to find appropriate venues for exhibitions. In one case, Sammy dove off of a platform specially constructed by the Pakistani Army. In another case, he dove off a table. Lee excelled in creating people-to-people ties, with divers in each country asking him to return for further coaching. His ability to engage in tough conversations on race in America and the value of democratic principles with composure and humor gained him respect from host countries. People identified with Lee. They saw him as a representative of America who truly saw them as equals. As Dr. Sammy Lee said himself: “… it did give me great pleasure to dive for them and to show them that despite minor shortcomings in my country here and there, we are able to guide our destiny and become what we want to become.” U.S. diplomats praised his communication skills and sense of humor. One embassy official noted, “Dr. Lee seemed willing to dive off anything to carry out the program.” Several embassy officials reported back to Washington D.C. that he was the first U.S. goodwill ambassador to receive positive and unbiased coverage from local pro-Communist newspapers. In 1956, Lee was a contestant on the popular television comedy quiz show You Bet Your Life hosted by Groucho Marx. When asked by Marx about his top athletic career experiences, Lee recalls his recruitment from the State Department and tales from his goodwill trip. Video courtesy Groucho Marx – You Bet Your Life Youtube Channel. [END] --- [1] Url: https://diplomacy.state.gov/u-s-diplomacy-stories/dr-sammy-lee-olympic-champion-and-goodwill-ambassador/ Published and (C) by U.S. State Dept Content appears here under this condition or license: Public Domain. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/usstate/