 Pat
McCormick
Olympic Diver
Patricia Keller McCormick is one
of those larger-than-life Olympic athletes. She
is the first and only woman in history to win a
“double-double” - two gold medals in two
consecutive Olympic Games.
At seventeen-years-old, Pat
Keller missed making the 1948 United States
Olympic diving team by less than .01 point.
Instead of giving up, she made it her goal to
make the 1952 Olympic diving team and,
furthermore, she determined she’d win a gold
medal. Her dreams were more than fulfilled. Not
only did Pat make the diving team in 1952, but
she won gold medals in both the platform and
springboard diving events. What’s more, she went
to the Olympics again in 1956 and won the gold
for the same two events again. In recognition of
her remarkable athletic achievements, “Sports
Illustrated” named her “Athlete of the Year” and
the Associated Press and United Press
International dubbed her “Woman of the Year”.
That same year she also received the nation’s
top amateur athlete award, the Sullivan Award.
But it doesn’t stop there. Pat’s
fame afforded her many opportunities and she
used that fame to give back to her community.
Pat McCormick is involved with many charities
and is well-known for her work among
disadvantaged youth. She is founder of “Pat’s
Champs”, a work involving children labeled “high
risk” by educators. Most of these kids come from
broken homes where the parents have substance
abuse problems. Pat works with these kids,
helping them find a way out of their dead-end
existence.
|
|
