Last U.S. male diver to win Olympic gold
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mark Lenzi struck gold when he switched from wrestling to diving in the mid-1980s.
Over the next decade, he became the 1992 Olympic 3-meter springboard champion, earned a bronze medal four years later in Atlanta and became the first driver to score 100 points on a single dive.
On Monday, Mr. Lenzi, the last American male diver to win Olympic gold, died at the age of 43 in Greenville, N.C.
Mr. Lenzi’s alma mater, In- diana University, posted the announcement on its website but did not provide a cause of death. His mother, Ellie, told the family’s hometown newspaper, The Free Lance-star of Fredricksburg, Va., that Lenzi had been hospitalized the past two weeks because of fainting spells that were caused by low blood pressure.
“As an Olympic gold and bronze medalist, Mark was one of our country’s greatest divers, and he will be missed tremendously,” USA Diving chairman Bob Rydze said in a statement posted on the organization’s website. It almost didn’t happen. Mr. Lenzi was wrestling in high school when he was captivated by Greg Louganis’ remarkable Olympics performance in 1984. Mr. Lenzi changed sports and dove right into his new passion.
In 1989, he swept the Big Ten titles in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform competitions, then went on to win the first of his back-toback 1-meter national championships in ’89. He was se- lected the NCAA’S diver of the year in 1989 and 1990.
But Mr. Lenzi was just beginning to emerge on the international stage.
His victory on the 3-meter board at the Barcelona Olympics gave the Americans their third straight title in that event. Four years later, following a brief retirement, Mr. Lenzi earned an Olympic bronze medal.
No American male diver has won an Olympic diving medal since Mr. Lenzi in ’96.