Olympic Diving Legend Pat McCormick Dies at the Age of 92

By Nicole Miller on SwimSwam

Olympic diving champion Pat McCormick has died at the age of 92. 

McCormick represented the United States at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, competing in both the 3M Springboard and Platform diving events and taking home the gold medal in both events. Four years later at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, McCormick repeated the feat, becoming the first person to sweep the 3-meter and platform diving events at consecutive Olympics. It was not until 1988 that anyone was able to match McCormick’s feat, as Greg Louganis did so at the Seoul Olympic Games.

McCormick was dominant on both the National and international stage during her career. In addition to her aforementioned Olympic golds, McCormick also won 26 US National Titles, going undefeated from 1951 to 1954. In 1956, she became the second woman to ever win the James Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete. 

For her career accomplishments, McCormick was named to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in its inaugural class of 1965. 

McCormick was also the mother of Kelly Robertson, the 1984 Olympic silver medalist in the springboard diving event. 

According to her family, McCormick died peacefully of natural causes at an assisted living facility on Tuesday, March 7. At the time of her death, she was the 7th-oldest living Olympic diver and the oldest living Olympic diving champion. She is survived by the aforementioned Robertson, along with six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

SwimSwam: Olympic Diving Legend Pat McCormick Dies at the Age of 92