Bernard Charles Wrightson (born June 25, 1944) is a former Olympic and

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gold medalist for the

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. The

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, native was primarily a three-meter springboard diver, but he also won a national AAU championship on the ten-meter platform. Between 1964 and 1968, Bernie Wrightson captured a total of eight USA Open titles in the sport of diving. He represented US at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, where he received a gold medal in Springboard Diving."1968 Summer Olympics – Mexico City, Mexico – Diving"
. ''databaseOlympics.com''. Retrieved June 13, 2008.

Biography

Wrightson was raised in

, where he attended Morey Junior High and

Denver East High School East High School is a historical public high school located in the City Park neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Denver Public Schools system, and is one of four original high schools in Denver. The ...

. He attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

; in 1966 he was the

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champion on both the one and three-meter springboard. The following season, Wrightson won a gold medal at the

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. During the 1968 Games of

, Bernie moved in front during the first round – and never looked back; he set an Olympic record of 170 points to win the gold medal.

Awards

He was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, in 1984.

References

1944 births Living people Divers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in diving American male divers Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in diving Universiade medalists in diving Divers at the 1967 Pan American Games Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games {{US-acrobatics-diving-bio-stub

Biography

Awards

See also

References