Lawrence Edwin Andreasen (November 13, 1945 – October 26, 1990) was an American diver. He represented his country at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, where he received the bronze medal in

springboard diving A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

."1964 Summer Olympics – Tokyo, Japan – Diving"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on August 14, 2008)

Life

Competition

Andreasen started diving at the age of 14; his first dive was into the backyard pool of

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

Olympic diving champion Pat McCormick and her husband Glenn, whose house was on Andreasen's

Seal Beach Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...

newspaper delivery route. When he was 17, Andreasen won a California state championship and the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) national junior and senior springboard championships, and finished second in the AAU 10 metre platform dive. He was later selected for the AAU team competing against a Japanese team in 1963, where he beat Toshio Yamano, Japan's representative for the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

3 metre springboard competition. Andreasen's Tokyo 1964 finish capped an Olympic springboard diving medal sweep for the American team, with Ken Sitzberger and Frank Gorman placing first and second, respectively. Gorman had beaten Andreasen (second) and Sitzberger (third) at the U.S. Olympics trials the previous month. Just before his turn on the diving board, the Japanese diver ahead of him struck the board, and Andreasen jumped into the pool to pull him out.

Exhibition

Andreasen was also noted for his exhibition diving, showcasing his talents at the dedication ceremonies for the Peck Park swimming pool in San Pedro in 1962. When the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

's '' Queen Mary'' ocean liner was permanently retired in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

harbor in 1967 as a tourist attraction, at the grand opening festivities Andreasen dove off the ship's bridge into the harbor, delighting the crowd although the impact heavily bruised his entire upper body for days afterward.

Bridges and death

In later years, Andreasen several times attempted to set the record for the highest dive from a bridge. On September 29, 1988 he successfully jumped from the

Gerald Desmond Bridge The 1968 Gerald Desmond Bridge was a through arch bridge that carried five lanes of Ocean Boulevard from Interstate 710 in Long Beach, California, west across the Back Channel to Terminal Island. The bridge was named after Gerald Desmond, a prom ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. A overhang meant he could not attempt a dive headfirst, thus preventing him from breaking the record. He was cited for an infraction by the police for this undertaking, and he swore off further attempts, saying "I've had it with diving ... That's it, I'm retired" from the hospital where he was taken after the fall temporarily paralyzed his chest and arms. In December 1988, he was talked down by police from the

Vincent Thomas Bridge The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a suspension bridge, crossing Los Angeles Harbor in Los Angeles, California, linking San Pedro with Terminal Island. It is the only suspension bridge in the Greater Los Angeles area. The bridge is part of State ...

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in another attempt to break the record, later saying he "just wanted to see if he had the old Olympic stuff." Andreasen was arrested for trespassing at the same bridge in April 1989, and he was committed to Metropolitan State Hospital for his safety in March 1990, but was reported missing late in the evening of October 25. On October 26, 1990, Andreasen was killed after apparently diving from the west tower of the same bridge. His death was ruled an accident.

References

External links

* * 1945 births 1990 deaths Accidental deaths in California Divers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Diving deaths American male divers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in diving Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics {{US-acrobatics-diving-bio-stub