Pat McCormick (diver)

Patricia Joan Keller McCormick (born May 12, 1930) is a retired American diver who won both diving events at two consecutive Summer Olympics, in 1952 and 1956. She won the James E. Sullivan Award for best amateur athlete in the US in 1956 – the second woman to do so.

Pat McCormick

McCormick in 1957
Personal information
Full name	Patricia Joan McCormick
Born	May 12, 1930 (1930-05-12) (age 90) Seal Beach, California, U.S.[1]
Height	162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport	Diving
Club	Los Angeles Athletic Club
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki Springboard 1952 Helsinki Platform 1956 Melbourne Springboard 1956 Melbourne Platform Pan American Games 1951 Buenos Aires Platform 1955 Mexico City Springboard 1955 Mexico City Platform 1951 Buenos Aires Springboard

As a child in the 1930s and 1940s she was notable for executing dives that were not allowed in competition for female divers (dives reputed to scare most men) and for practicing off the Los Alamitos Bridge in Long Beach, California Harbor.[2] She attended Woodrow Wilson Classical High School, Long Beach City College, and California State University, Long Beach.[3]

After the Olympics McCormick did diving tours and was a model for Catalina swimsuits. She served on the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics organizing committee and began a program called "Pat's Champs"—a foundation to help motivate kids to dream big and to set practical ways to succeed.[4] McCormick's husband, Glenn, was a diving coach for her, as well as for other Olympic diving medalists. They divorced after 24 years of marriage. He died in 1995. They had two children, Tim, born in 1956, just five months before McCormick won two gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics, and Kelly (born 1960), who won two Olympic medals (silver, bronze) in diving.[1]