She was the dominant figure in women's diving in the United States from 1965 to 1972, winning 10 national championships, including both springboard and platform events. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, she was in first place in the three meter springboard event when she broke her left arm on the ninth dive; she completed the tenth dive, but finished in fourth place. In 1972, she made a comeback at the Munich Olympics, winning the gold medal in the three meter springboard event.
King was born in Pontiac, Michigan, the daughter of a General Motors tool engineer in Pontiac. She developed a love of water sports at her family's cottage in Waterford, Michigan. She began diving at age ten through lessons at the YMCA in downtown Pontiac.[3] She attended Pontiac Central High School.[3] Throughout high school she entered and won AAU meets regularly.
University of Michigan and Ann Arbor Swim Club
King attended the University of Michigan from 1961 to 1965. When King arrived at Michigan in 1961, it did not have a women's diving program. When men's diving coach Dick Kimball saw King, he saw a potential diving star; he saw strength, desire, a natural spring and great athleticism.[4] Kimball decided to train King with the men's team. Working with Kimball, King became the first woman to master a number of dives, including a 1-1/2 somersault dive with a 2-1/2 twist on a ten-meter tower.[4]
In the years before Title IX, women were not permitted to compete in Michigan athletics, but Kimball and King circumvented the system. King recalled, "One of Coach Kimball's greatest lines was that he didn't coach men or women he coached people. He taught me dives that no woman had ever done before. I pioneered those dives. Coach Kimball knew that we were a team of people."[5] She noted: "We used the women's pool at the CCRB. What was ironic was that the men were allowed to come into and use the women's pool but the women couldn't even come into the men's. What Kimball would do was sneak us through the back doors because the front door was right in front of the administrators. We used the spectator bathroom and used washcloths and the public sink as a shower. We thought we were lucky."[5]
She was the dominant figure in women's diving in the United States from 1965 to 1972. In 1965, competing for the Ann Arbor Swim Club (since Michigan did not have a team),[3] King was the US national indoor platform champion, the national outdoor three-meter champion and was named Diver of the Year. After graduating from Michigan, King joined the US Air Force in 1966 and was assigned to the Air Force ROTC program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she continued to train with Dick Kimball. In all, King won ten US national diving championships in the outdoor three-meter springboard (1965, 1967, 1969, 1970), one meter (1967), platform (1969), and indoor three-meter springboard (1965, 1971).
King also excelled in water polo. She led the Ann Arbor Swim Club to two AAU national championships (1961–1963) and was twice named an All-American goalie.
1968 and 1972 Olympic Games
Going into the 1968 Summer Olympics, King was the favorite in the three-meter competition. She was popular with American diving fans not only for her diving ability but also for her personality and good looks. A 1967 Associated Press article described her as "shapely" and "a vivacious, blue-eyed blond, who does justice to a bathing suit". She is remembered for her courageous performance in the 1968 Summer Olympics in which she was in first place when she broke her left forearm on her ninth dive. She later recalled: "I was leading with only three dives to go, but on my second-to-last dive, I hit the board with my arm. The irony was that I could have done my cleanup dive with a broken leg, but I didn't know I had to do it with a broken arm. I didn't think it was going to hurt, and when it did, it shook me up."[6] The pain caused King to lose form on her last dive, and she slipped from first to fourth.[6]
She made an Olympic comeback and won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in the three-meter springboard event. King noted that, while she was caught up in the pageantry and adventure of the Olympics in 1968, she was 28 years old at the Munich games; she viewed it as her "last hurrah," and "it was all business."[6] Going into the final round in Munich, King was in third place. She won the gold on her final dive, the same half-somersault with a one-and-a-half twist that cost her gold in Mexico City.[3] When Palestinian gunmen took Israeli athletes hostage, King and her coaches used zoom lenses to observe the gunmen on a balcony outside an apartment of Israeli athletes.[7] "The Olympics are such a wonderful tradition for sport, but it has never been the same since 1972, given the tragedy there," King said. "The beauty of sportsmanship is spoiled by the need for security."[8]
US Air Force
King also had a 26-year career in the US Air Force from 1966 to 1992. While preparing for the 1972 Olympics, King trained at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.[6] In 1973, she was assigned to instruct physical education and coach diving at the Air Force Academy, becoming the first woman to hold a faculty position at a US military academy,[9][10] and the only female coach in any sport to coach a male athlete to an NCAA championship.[9][11] She coached Air Force divers to 11 All-America honors and four national titles, and was twice named NCAA Division II Coach of the Year. In 1992, King retired from the Air Force as a full colonel.
In 1976, King married Air Force pilot, Jim Hogue, and she changed her name during the marriage to Micki King Hogue. In 1982, King had a daughter, Michelle Hogue. In 1984, she had a son, Kevin Hogue.
While serving in the Air Force, King was a member of the committee that led the way for women to be admitted to the US military academies. King's daughter, Michelle Hogue, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2004. At the time, King noted, "Never once in the two years of committee work did I ever dream that my own daughter would be a beneficiary."[6] On her graduation, King's daughter presented King with a class ring from the academy. King noted, "She said if anybody should have a class ring, I should."[6]
Television
In addition to being a color commentator with Bill Flemming for ABC's television coverage at the 1976 Summer Olympics,[8][12] King was also a competitor in the 1970s television series, Superstars and Battle of the Sexes. She appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on October 25, 1972.[13] Appeared on the television show "To Tell the Truth", 1973–74 season five.
University of Kentucky
In 1992, King became an assistant athletic director and senior women's administrator at the University of Kentucky where she remained for 14 years. She was also the first woman to command Kentucky's ROTC detachment. King was relieved of her duties as part of a major shake-up in the Kentucky athletics department in May 2006.[14]
Continued involvement in Olympic diving
She has remained active in Olympic diving over the years. King was a color commentator on ABC television's coverage of the 1976 Summer Olympics. She had been scheduled to do the color commentary at the 1980 Moscow games that were boycotted by the United States. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, King was the team leader for the US diving team.[8] From 1990 to 1994, King was the president of US Diving, the governing body for US divers, and attended the 1992 Summer Olympics in that capacity.[8] At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, King was again the Olympic team leader for US divers;[8] she sequestered the team for intensive training at the University of Kentucky facilities before the games.[15] At the time, she noted, "We'll train in Lexington because it's in the same time zone, it has great facilities and I wanted another week at home."[16] In 2001, she was part of an independent review commission that concluded that US Track & Field did not intentionally cover up positive drug tests but did not follow procedures in reporting violators.[17][18] In April 2005, King was elected to serve a four-year term as vice president of the US Olympians Association.[11]
Women's Sports Foundation
In 1974, King was one of the founders of the Women's Sports Foundation along with Billie Jean King, Donna de Varona, and Wyomia Tyus.[19] She was a member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees from 1988 to 1990 and has served on its Board of Stewards since 1990. Long a proponent of funding for women's sports, King noted in 1999, "The test of Title IX is to go into high schools and ask the girls about the history of their teams. When today's 17-year-old assumes there has always been a volleyball team at their school, then it has become accepted as part of their culture."[5]
Awards and honors
She has received numerous awards and honors, including:
In 1994, the University of Michigan "M" Club awarded King an Honorary "M". When King attended Michigan, women's diving was not a varsity sport, and she therefore did not receive a varsity letter during her years as a student.[21]
In 2001, King received the Phil Boggs Award for individual excellence in diving and for giving back to the sport.
Gao Min is a Chinese diver who won gold medals in the springboard event of the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games.
Nicole Lee Haislett is an American former competitive swimmer who was a three-time Olympic gold medalist, a former world and American record-holder, and an eight-time American national college champion. During her international swimming career, Haislett won twenty-two medals in major international championships, including fourteen golds.
Melissa Louise Belote, also known by her current married name Melissa Belote Ripley, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. She represented the United States at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.
Whitney Lynn Hedgepeth is an American former competition swimmer who won a gold and two silver medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Marjorie Gestring was a competitive springboard diver from the United States. At the age of 13 years and 268 days, she won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, making her at the time the youngest person ever to win an Olympic gold medal. She remains the second-youngest Olympic gold medalist, as of 2024. A multi-time national diving champion in the United States, she was given a second Olympic gold medal by the United States Olympic Committee after the 1940 Summer Olympics were called off due to the advent of World War II. Gestring attempted to return to the Olympics at the 1948 Games, but failed to qualify for the US team. She has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jane Fauntz, also known by her married name Jane Manske, was a national champion swimmer and diver, and a member of the United States Olympic teams in 1928 (swimming) and 1932. She was the bronze medalist for springboard diving at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Cynthia "Cindy" Ann Potter is an American former Olympic diver and diving color commentator. She was a member of three Olympic diving teams, winning a bronze medal in the 3 m springboard in 1976.
Helen E. Wainwright, also known by her married name Helen Stelling, was a competition diver and swimmer who represented the United States at the 1920 Summer Olympics and 1924 Summer Olympics. She remains the only woman to ever win Olympic silver medals in both swimming and diving.
The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs. To qualify for induction into the Hall of Honor, an individual must have been an All-American, set an NCAA, U.S., or world record, won an NCAA title, or made significant contributions to the university's athletic department as a coach or administrator. The nomination and selection process is conducted by the Letterwinners M Club executive board.
Dick Kimball is an American former diving champion and diving coach at the University of Michigan. He was the NCAA springboard champion in 1957 and the Professional World Diving champion in 1963. He coached the University of Michigan diving team from 1958 to 2002 and also coached the U.S. Olympic diving teams in 1964, 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992. He has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.
Robert David "Bob" Webster is a retired American diver who won the 10 m platform event at every competition he entered between 1960 and 1964, including the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and 1963 Pan American Games. He later became a diving coach at the University of Minnesota, Princeton University, and the University of Alabama. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1970 and the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1989.
Francea ("Francie") Norma Kraker Goodridge is a former women's track and field athlete and coach from the United States. She set a world record in the 600-yard indoor event and was the first Michigan-born woman to win a place on the U.S. Olympic team. She later coached women's track at the University of Michigan, Wake Forest University and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she was also the Coordinator of Women's Athletics. She has been inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, the University of Michigan Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame and the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
Megan Neyer is an American former competition springboard and platform diver. Neyer was a member of the ill-fated 1980 U.S. Olympic team, the 1982 world champion springboard diver, a fifteen-time U.S. national diving champion, and an eight-time NCAA champion.
Rachel Komisarz, also known by her married name Rachel Komisarz-Baugh, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world record-holder and collegiate swimming coach.
Janet Ely is a former American female diver for the University of Michigan and Southern Methodist University and was a diving competitor in the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympics. Under coach Dick Kimball, she trained in swimming and diving at the YMCA Tennis Club, then attended and swam for the University of Michigan and Southern Methodist University.
Leigh Ann Fetter, later known by her married name Leigh Ann Witt, is an American former competition swimmer and accomplished coach who represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Frances Anne "Francie" Larrieu Smith is an American track and field athlete. She was the flagbearer at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the United States of America. Larrieu Smith was the third female American athlete to make five American Olympic teams, behind the six of fencer Jan York-Romary and Track and Field's Willye White. The feat was later equaled by basketball player Teresa Edwards, track and field's Gail Devers, cyclist/speedskater Chris Witty and swimmer Dara Torres. After one of the longest elite careers on record, she retired from that level of competition.
Helen Crlenkovich was one of the most successful athletes in America and the world on the three-meter springboard and the ten-meter platform. She was a Croatian American known to friends and family as "Klinky." Both of her parents were from Croatia: mother Anka Tomin was from Petrijevci, and father Adam from Banićevac near Cernik.
Rachel Kealaonapua "Keala" O'Sullivan is an American former diver. In 1965, she won the U.S. Junior AAU one-meter board diving championships.
Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse is an American diver. She competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event at the 1992 Summer Olympics. She has been described as "the greatest diver, male or female, to ever come through Michigan State".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
