Dr. Sammy Lee did not allow anything to pull him down

From Wikimedia/Sammy Lee

Dr. Sammy Lee won the Olympic gold medal for platform diving in 1948 and 1952, becoming the first Asian American to ever do so. He was born on August 1, 1920 to a family that worked as farmers in Hawaii. Lee had to face many barriers from his youth to the beginning of his career. During the 1940’s Lee experienced racial tension due to the conflict of World War II, but persisted despite the hostility at the time.

Lee went on to became a doctor. He received his M.D. from the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He followed his training at USC by serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea due to the lack of doctors during World War two. Even with almost no free time to spare, Lee was able to squeeze in time for diving practice.

When Lee entered the Olympics he was set on earning a place in an American society for Korean-Americans. In an article from USAdiver.com, the author noted Lee saying, "Well, that's an entirely separate civilization [Korea]. They had their own language which I cannot speak, but we are a separate entity.”

During the 1940s, the bombing of Pearl Harbor brought tension to all Asians in the United States. Lee faced racism without any hesitation. Instead of taking racism to heart, he ignored it. In a Los Angeles Times article, Lee never let racism block his march to diving glory, Jerry Crowe heard Lee saying, "It inspired me to perform."

Lee faced racism was during his years at high school. Lee was the vice-president and wanted an opportunity at being president. When Lee went to become president, his principal told him not to run because he was Asian. Lee was disheartened and eneded up not running.

Lee is a perfect example of a person that has struggled to become successful. People should look up to him as a role model because he was able to become a great athlete as well as an intellectual man despite the racial barriers he faced.