Georgia Coleman

Georgia Coleman (born January 23, 1912, St. Maries, Idaho, U.S.—died September 14, 1940, Los Angeles, California) was an American diver who was the first woman to perform a forward 21/2 somersault dive in competition. She won several Olympic medals, including a gold in the springboard event.

Coleman had been diving for just six months when she competed at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Only 16 years old, she won a silver medal in the 10-meter platform competition and a bronze in the 3-meter springboard. Combining athleticism with grace, Coleman dominated the U.S. national diving championships over the next several years, winning the outdoor springboard and platform titles (1929–31) and the indoor 1-meter (1931) and 3-meter (1929–32) springboard events.

In 1932 Coleman made the Olympic team competing at that year’s Los Angeles Games. Before the competition began officials deemed the bathing suits of Coleman and several other U.S. divers as too revealing and forced the women to change. The stir did not affect her performance as she won a gold medal in the 3-meter springboard competition and another silver in the 10-meter platform.

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In 1937 Coleman contracted polio and lost the use of her legs. She eventually regained their use but later suffered from a liver ailment. Coleman died in 1940 at age 28 after developing pneumonia. In 1966 she was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.