Bob Webster
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | October 25, 1938 Berkeley, California,U.S. | (age85)
Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Diving |
Club | Sammy Lee Swim Club |
Medal record |
Robert David "Bob" Webster(born October 25, 1938)[1]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 theUniversity of Minnesota,Princeton University,and theUniversity of Alabama.He was inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Famein 1970 and theUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honorin 1989.
Competitive diving
[edit]Born inBerkeley, California,[1]Webster won his first collegiate diving title forSanta Ana Junior College,a school that did not have a pool.[2]While at Santa Ana, Webster trained off a board in Olympic championSammy Lee's backyard sand pit.[2]In 1957, Webster led the Santa Ana Dons to second and third-place finishes at the conference and state swimming and diving competitions.[3]Sammy Lee was Webster's swimming coach at Santa Ana. Lee said, "Diving-wise, he was the greatest competitor I've ever coached. He really held up under competition, as both of his Olympic medals were by narrow margins. I told him early on that he could be an Olympic champion and Bob finally said, 'If you're serious, I'm serious.' I wrote to the University of Michigan and told them I had the next Olympic champion right here at Santa Ana College. They offered him a scholarship. The rest is history."[3]
Webster then transferred to theUniversity of Michiganwhere he was coached byDick KimballandBruce Harlan.[2]He won the gold medal in the 1960 Olympics with a score of 165.56 on September 2, 1960.[4]His 1960 score on the platform was an Olympic record that remained unbroken when the scoring system was changed in 1972.[5]At the 1960 Olympics, only his coaches gave Webster much of a chance againstGary Tobianof the U.S. and Britain'sBrian Phelps.But Webster saved his most difficult dives, and took the lead from Tobian with a near perfect 2½ somersault on his second to last dive. The margin of victory between Webster and silver medalist Tobian was less than one-third of a point—the narrowest in Olympic history.
Rank | Diver | Preliminary | Semi-final | Final | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Total | Rank | Points | Rank | Total | ||
Bob Webster(USA) | 52.21 | 9 | 47.51 | 2 | 99.72 | 3 | 65.84 | 1 | 165.56 | |
Gary Tobian(USA) | 54.10 | 4 | 51.98 | 1 | 106.08 | 1 | 59.17 | 2 | 165.25 | |
Brian Phelps(GBR) | 57.35 | 1 | 44.50 | 3 | 101.85 | 2 | 55.28 | 4 | 157.13 |
He won the gold medal again in the 1964 Olympics with a score of 148.58 on October 18, 1964.[4]He was only the second diver to win the platform event in consecutive Olympic games, after his coach Sammy Lee accomplished the feat in 1948 and 1952. In 1964, he won the gold by another narrow margin over Italy'sKlaus Dibiasi.
Rank | Diver | Preliminary | Final | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Total | ||
Bob Webster(USA) | 93.18 | 6 | 55.40 | 1 | 148.58 | |
Klaus Dibiasi(ITA) | 97.62 | 1 | 49.92 | 5 | 147.54 | |
Tom Gompf(USA) | 92.79 | 7 | 53.78 | 2 | 146.57 |
Webster won every tower diving competition he entered from 1960 to 1964, including a gold medal in the1963 Pan American GamesinSão Paulo, Braziland the U.S. NationalAAUchampionships from 1960 to 1964.[2]He was the first U.S. diver to win the platform event in the history of the Pan American Games. He also won the U.S. National AAU championship in the 1-meter springboard in 1962 and theBig Ten Conferencechampionship in the 3-meter springboard in 1960.[2]
Diving coach
[edit]After retiring from competitive diving, Webster became the diving coach at theUniversity of Minnesota.[2]Webster was diving coach atPrincetonfrom 1966 to 1975.[6]He was also the coach for the U.S. diving team at the1971 Pan American GamesinCali, Colombia.[2]He later became the diving coach at theUniversity of Alabamawhere he was namedSECCoach of the Year in 1981.[7]
Awards and honors
[edit]Webster was inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Famein 1970,[2]and theUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honorin 1989.[8]
See also
[edit]- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- Diving at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 10 metre platform
- Diving at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 10 metre platform
- University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
References
[edit]- ^abEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Bob Webster".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-04-17.
- ^abcdefgh"ROBERT WEBSTER (USA) 1970 Honor Diver".International Swimming Hall of Fame.
- ^ab"Santa Ana College Athletic Hall of Fame: Bob Webster".sac.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-10-24.
- ^ab"Robert Webster".Database Olympics.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-11.
- ^"Olympic Gold Medalists".USA Diver.com.
- ^"Swimming".Princeton University.
- ^"Alabama Swimming and Diving has produced 56 Olympians Six Olympic Gold Medals..."[dead link]
- ^"M Club Site for Hall of Honor".letterwinnersmclub.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-01-21.Retrieved2007-11-26.
Bob Webster
- 1938 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Berkeley, California
- American diving coaches
- American male divers
- Divers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Divers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Minnesota Golden Gophers diving coaches
- Michigan Wolverines men's divers
- Princeton Tigers diving coaches
- Alabama Crimson Tide diving coaches
- Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in diving
- Divers at the 1959 Pan American Games
- Divers at the 1963 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in diving
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in diving
- 20th-century American sportsmen