Sitzberger, Kenneth R.
Diving
b. Feb. 13, 1945, Cedar Rapids, IA
d. Jan. 2, 1984
Sitzberger was trailing U. S. teammate Frank Gorman after nine of the ten dives in the springboard competition at the 1964 Olympics, but Gorman performed poorly on his last dive and Sitzberger was nearly flawless, winning the gold medal.
As a student at Indiana University, Sitzberger won the AAU national indoor 1-meter and 3-meter springboard championships in 1964 and 1965. He was the NCAA champion in the 1-meter from 1965 through 1967, in the 3-meter in 1956 and 1967.
He married Jeanne Collier, who won a silver medal in the women's Olympic springboard in 1964.
Sitzberger frequently served as a commentator on televised diving events. He died under rather mysterious circumstances. He was brought to a hospital unconscious and died shortly afterward. His wife said that he had fallen and hit his head on a table during a New Year's Eve party and had been complaining of headaches before losing consciousness.
Because Sitzberger had been subpoenaed as a federal witness in a cocaine-trafficking case, police investigated his death further, but discovered no evidence of foul play.