Sport: No. 1 Amateur

Sammy Lee is a confident, stubby (5 ft. 1¼ in., 132 Ibs.) man who felt so sure that he would qualify for the 1952 Olympics that he sent his wife to Helsinki ahead of time. Sammy not only made the team but he repeated his 1948 gold-medal triumph in the high-diving event.

Last year Major Sammy Lee, U.S. Army Medical Corps, was busy with other things. He was attached to the 121st Evacuation Hospital in Korea, and was so good at his medical job (ear, nose & throat) that he was called on to treat South Korean President Syngman Rhee recently. This was a professional honor Sammy enjoyed doubly, since he happens to be a Korean-American.

Last week Sammy Lee received some news that left him "a little embarrassed, but darned proud." He had won the A.A.U.'s James E. Sullivan award as the nation's No. 1 amateur athlete in 1953. Sammy was embarrassed because he was so busy being an Army medic that he never even got his feet wet in diving competition last year.