Farid Simaika
Encyclopedia
Farid Simaika was an Olympic
diver
who was born in Alexandria
, Egypt
Egyptian Farid Simaika was accepting his gold medal for platform diving at the 1928 Olympics, as the Egyptian national anthem was playing, when suddenly the music stopped and the votes were re-counted. He was then given a silver medal. He had initially won on total points, however the judges' high and low scores were thrown out while points for degree of difficulty were figured in.
Later, he performed in the famous Billy Rose Aquacades, which made swimming stars of Esther Williams
, Eleanor Holm
and Johnny Weissmuller
. In Hollywood he was a stunt double in the 1931 film Seas Beneath and performed in an MGM Pete Smith Special.
Simaika became a U.S. pilot during World War II, and was shot down over New Guinea and killed by head-hunters. Eventually, his head was found suspended by strings through each ear. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
diver
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
who was born in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
Egyptian Farid Simaika was accepting his gold medal for platform diving at the 1928 Olympics, as the Egyptian national anthem was playing, when suddenly the music stopped and the votes were re-counted. He was then given a silver medal. He had initially won on total points, however the judges' high and low scores were thrown out while points for degree of difficulty were figured in.
Later, he performed in the famous Billy Rose Aquacades, which made swimming stars of Esther Williams
Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
, Eleanor Holm
Eleanor Holm
Eleanor G. Holm was an American swimmer. An Olympic champion, she is best known for having been suspended from the 1936 Summer Olympics team, after she had attended a cocktail party on the transatlantic cruise ship taking her to Germany...
and Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
. In Hollywood he was a stunt double in the 1931 film Seas Beneath and performed in an MGM Pete Smith Special.
Simaika became a U.S. pilot during World War II, and was shot down over New Guinea and killed by head-hunters. Eventually, his head was found suspended by strings through each ear. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.