Diving champion Lenzi dies

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mark Lenzi struck gold when he switched from wrestling to diving in the mid-1980s.

Over the next decade, he became the 1992 Olympic 3-meter springboard champion, earned a bronze medal four years later in Atlanta and became the first driver to score 100 points on a dive.

On Monday, Lenzi, the last American male diver to win Olympic gold, died at the age of 43 in Greenville, N.C.

Lenzi’s alma mater, Indiana University, posted the announcement on its web site but did not provide a cause of death. His mother, Ellie, told the family’s hometown newspaper in Fredricksburg, Va., Lenzi had been hospitalized the past two weeks because of fainting spells caused by low blood pressure.

“Mark came from a wrestling background and the goal of any wrestler is to pin you,” former Olympic teammate and current Texas diving coach Matt Scoggin told USA Diving. “When Mark got into a contest, he was going to pin you. I remember before his first World Cup, he was going to win 1-meter, I thought there was no way – it was my third World Cup and I was still trying to get on the podium. He won. He was a very confident competitor.”

Lenzi was wrestling in high school when he was captivated by Greg Louganis’ remarkable Olympics performance in 1984. Lenzi changed sports and dove right into his new passion.