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Paula Jean Myers-Pope

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Paula Jean Myers-Pope
Myers-Pope with husband Karl Pope
Personal information
Birth namePaula Jean Myers
BornNovember 11, 1934(1934-11-11)
La Verne, California,U.S.A.[1]
DiedJune 9, 1995(1995-06-10)(aged 60)
Ojai, California,U.S.A.
Alma materCovina High School[2]
Sport
SportDiving[3]
Event(s)Platform,3m springboard
University teamOhio State University BuckeyesandUniversity of Southern California Trojans
ClubKappa Alpha Thetaand
Sammy Lee Swim Club[4]
Coached byRusty Smith (1948-1951)
Lyle Draves (1952-1957)
Sammy Lee (1958-1960, 1964)[5][6]
Medal record
Women'sdiving
RepresentingtheUnited States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1952 Helsinki Platform
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome 3m springboard
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome Platform
Bronze medal – third place 1956 Melbourne Platform
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1959 Chicago 3m springboard
Gold medal – first place 1959 Chicago Platform

Paula Jean Myers-Pope(November 11, 1934 – June 9, 1995) was an Americandiverand four-timeOlympic medalistin threeSummer Olympic Games(1952, 1956 and 1960).[1]

Paula Pope,Ingrid KramerandElizabeth Ferrisat the 1960 Olympics

Education[edit]

Myers was born and raised inLa Verne, California,and attended high school in nearbyCovina,where she was Freshman Class Treasurer, member of the Senior Class Council, the Girls’ Athletic Association and the California Scholastic Federation.[1]

Olympics[edit]

Myers-Pope was a member of theUSA Olympic Diving Teamthree times,1952,1956and1960.She won four medals in her three trips to the Olympics.[1][4][5][7]

1952 Olympics[edit]

At 17 years of age, Myers won a silver medal in the10-meter towerevent at the1952 Summer OlympicsinHelsinki,Finland.Teammate,Pat McCormickwon the gold and teammate,Juno Stover-Irwinwon the bronze.[5]

1956 Olympics[edit]

Myers won a bronze medal in the same event,10-metre platform,at the1956 Summer Olympics,inMelbourne,Australia.Teammate,Pat McCormickwon the gold, again, but this time she flip-flopped with teammate,Juno Stover-Irwin,who won the silver medal this time.[5]

1960 Olympics[edit]

Myers-Pope won two silver medals at the1960 Summer OlympicsinRome,Italy,one in the3-meter springboardevent and one in the10-meter tower.In both events, MissIngrid KrämerfromEast Germanywon the gold medals this year.[4][5][7][8]

1964 Olympic trials[edit]

Myers-Pope had gone into retirement from competitive diving and not been in a pool from the 1960 Olympic Games until April, 1964. At theU.S. Olympic trials,at Astoria Pool, inQueens,New York,in September, 1964, she finished eighth and retired again from competitive diving.[9]

Pan American Games[edit]

Myers-Pope won two gold medals at the1959 Pan American Games,in both the10-meter towerand3-meter springboardforTeam USA.[4][5][7]

College years[edit]

Myers first attendedOhio State Universityin the mid 1950s, graduated with a degree indental hygienefrom theUniversity of Southern Californiaand became adental hygienist.[1]When Miss Myers enteredUSCon a leadership scholarship as there were no collegiate women's athletic programs at the time. She was inducted into theKappa Alpha Thetasorority in 1954. She won 11AAU Championships.[4]

Racquet club[edit]

In 1984, Myers-Pope retired from her career in dental hygiene, then co-owned and operated the Ojai Valley Racquet Club with her husband inOjai, California.[1][4][5][7]In 2008, they applied for a major renovation, including a luxury inn, for their Ojai Valley Racquet Club.[10]

Personal life[edit]

Between the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, Myers joinedthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[11]She married Karl Pope (a USC basketball player) in 1958.[5]The couple had two sons and three daughters.[1]She died at the age of 60 in 1995.[1]

Legacy[edit]

Myers-Pope was the first woman to use a double twisting 1 1/2 somersault and inward 2 1/2 somersault in competition off the 10 meter.[5]She was the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in 1960,[1][12]and she has been inducted into the following Halls of Fame:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghi"Paula Jean Myers Pope; Olympic Medalist".Los Angeles Times.June 13, 1995. p. EVB4.
  2. ^"Mrs. Paula Jean Myers-Pope | Covina High School | Hall of Fame".www.c-vusd.org.1952.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  3. ^Jorgensen, Loren (July 18, 1992)."`TRIALS & TRIUMPHS' ISN'T JUST GOLLY-GEE-WHIZ LOOK AT CHAMPS".www.deseret.com.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  4. ^abcdef"Paul Jean MYERS-POPE Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age".olympics.com.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  5. ^abcdefghij"ISHOF.org | Paula Jean Myers Pope (USA) 1979 Honor Diver".ishof.org.1979. Archived fromthe originalon August 4, 2019.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  6. ^Smith, David F. (December 3, 2016)."Sammy Lee, 2-time Olympic diving champion, dies at 96".www.theintelligencer.com.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  7. ^abcd"Olympedia - Paula Jean Myers-Pope".Olympedia.org.OlyMADMen.RetrievedJanuary 5,2022.
  8. ^Kane, Martin (September 5, 1960)."SPLENDOR AND SPLEEN - AS THE OLYMPICS BEGAN, GOOD WILL FLOURISHED AMID AWESOME PAGEANTRY, BUT A FLAP WAS JUST HOURS AWAY".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  9. ^The New York Times Archives (September 7, 1964)."Form's What Counts; Webster and Linda Cooper Take Diving Finals and Gain Olympic Berths; PLACES ALSO WON BY VITUCCI, GOMPF; Mrs. Talmage, Miss Bush Make Women's Squad—Mrs. Pope Retires Again".www.nytimes.com.p. 15.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  10. ^Ramos, Julian J. (January 10, 2008)."City may get luxury inn, racquet club".santamariatimes.com.RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  11. ^Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac.Salt Lake City, UT:Deseret News.1998. p. 555.ISBN1573454915.
  12. ^ab"2007 Inductees For USC Athletic Hall of Fame Announced - USC Athletics".usctrojans.com.October 14, 2006.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.
  13. ^"Alumni / The CHS Hall of Fame".1952.RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  14. ^"Special Recognition Awards - VC Sports Hall of Fame".venturacountysportshalloffame.org.1988.RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  15. ^Wolf, Scott (July 7, 2014)."Pete Carroll Makes USC Hall Of Fame".Los Angeles Daily News.RetrievedOctober 4,2023.

External links[edit]

Media related toPaula Popeat Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPaula Pope.
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