Kenneth Robert "Ken" Sitzberger (February 13, 1945 – January 2, 1984) was an American
diver. After 4 years of Chicago Catholic League Champion at Fenwick High School, competing in the 3 m springboard he won a bronze medal at the 1963 Pan American Games and a gold at the 1964 Olympics. In 1964, Sitzberger was trailing the teammate
Frank Gorman after nine of the ten dives, but Gorman performed poorly on his last dive, while Sitzberger was nearly flawless.
[
As a student at ]Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
, Sitzberger won the AAU national indoor 1-meter and 3-meter springboard championships in 1964 and 1965. He was the NCAA champion in the 1-meter from 1965 through 1967, and in the 3-meter springboard in 1966 and 1967.[
Sitzberger married ]Jeanne Collier
Jeanne Ellen Collier (born May 15, 1946) is a former American diver. She competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest ...
, who won an Olympic silver medal in the springboard in 1964. He worked for more than 16 years as a sports commentator for the American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
until his death at the age of 38.[ He died of a ]brain hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
under mysterious circumstances. His wife said that he had fallen and hit his head on a table during a New Year's Eve party, and his death was ruled an accident. Police said Sitzberger twice picked fights with another man at the party, and in the second scuffle he struck his head. Because Sitzberger had been subpoenaed as a federal witness in a cocaine-trafficking case, police investigated his death further, but discovered no evidence of foul play.[ Ten years after his death, Sitzberger 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 ...
.[
]
See also
* List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
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 a ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitzberger, Kenneth
1945 births
1984 deaths
Divers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in diving
Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
American male divers
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in diving
Divers at the 1963 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games