Mark Lenzi
Encyclopedia
Mark Edward Lenzi is a former American Olympic
diver
and diving coach. Lenzi is known for his Olympic gold medal
in the 1992 Olympic Games, and his Olympic bronze medal
in the 1996 Olympic Games on the 3m springboard
.
Lenzi was also the first American diver to perform a 109C (forward 4.5 somersault tuck) in competition, and the first diver to score over 100 points in competition, performing a 307C (reverse 3.5 somersault tuck) off of the 3m springboard for over 102 points.
in 1986. Lenzi, under the coaching of Hobie Billingsley
, won two NCAA Championships in 1989 and 1990. After making the U.S. National team in 1989 at age 21, Lenzi graduated from Indiana University and began diving under coach Dick Kimball
. In 1991 and 1992, Lenzi was recognized as the "Phillips 66 Diver of the Year." Lenzi represented the U.S. at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where he won the Gold Medal by 31 points over Tan Liangde
and Dimitri Sautin.
After briefly retiring from diving shortly after the Olympics, Lenzi returned to the sport in late 1995. Lenzi qualified for the 1996 Olympic team on the 3m springboard despite an injured shoulder, and won a bronze medal behind Xiong Ni and Yu Zhoucheng.
In total, Lenzi has won 18 international competitions at the 1m and 3m springboard level. He also became the first American diver to perform a 109C in competition, and the first diver to score over 100 points on a single dive in competition.
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...
and diving coach. Lenzi is known for his Olympic gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in the 1992 Olympic Games, and his Olympic bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
in the 1996 Olympic Games on the 3m springboard
Springboard
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....
.
Lenzi was also the first American diver to perform a 109C (forward 4.5 somersault tuck) in competition, and the first diver to score over 100 points in competition, performing a 307C (reverse 3.5 somersault tuck) off of the 3m springboard for over 102 points.
Diving career
Lenzi began his diving career at Indiana UniversityIndiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in 1986. Lenzi, under the coaching of Hobie Billingsley
Hobie Billingsley
Hobie Billingsley is an American diving champion and honoree of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Considered one of the highlights of his career was during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, when Billingsley was honored by his nation with the opportunity to conduct the Judge's Oath by...
, won two NCAA Championships in 1989 and 1990. After making the U.S. National team in 1989 at age 21, Lenzi graduated from Indiana University and began diving under coach Dick Kimball
Dick Kimball
Dick Kimball is an American former diving champion and diving coach at the University of Michigan. He was the NCAA springboard champion in 1957 and the Professional World Diving champion in 1963. He coached the University of Michigan diving team from 1958-2002 and also coached the U.S. Olympic...
. In 1991 and 1992, Lenzi was recognized as the "Phillips 66 Diver of the Year." Lenzi represented the U.S. at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where he won the Gold Medal by 31 points over Tan Liangde
Tan Liangde
Tan Liangde is a famous diver from PR China. He won silver medals in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 1992. He is currently a coach in Tianjin diving team....
and Dimitri Sautin.
After briefly retiring from diving shortly after the Olympics, Lenzi returned to the sport in late 1995. Lenzi qualified for the 1996 Olympic team on the 3m springboard despite an injured shoulder, and won a bronze medal behind Xiong Ni and Yu Zhoucheng.
In total, Lenzi has won 18 international competitions at the 1m and 3m springboard level. He also became the first American diver to perform a 109C in competition, and the first diver to score over 100 points on a single dive in competition.