Birth name Paula Jean Myers Role Olympic athlete Name Paula Myers-Pope | Country United States | |
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Born November 11, 1934 LaVerne, California, U.S. Died June 9, 1995, Ventura, California, United States Similar People Ingrid Kramer, Pat McCormick, Ninel Krutova, Patricia McCormick | ||
Paula Jean Myers-Pope (November 11, 1934 – July 15, 1995) was a diver and Olympic medalist from La Verne, California. She attended high school in nearby West Covina, then entered USC on a leadership scholarship as there were no collegiate women's athletic programs at the time. She was inducted into the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority in 1954.
At 15 years of age, she received a silver medal in the 10 meter tower event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, a bronze medal in the same event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, and two silver medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, one in the 3 meter springboard event and one in the 10M tower. She won two gold medals at the 1959 Pan American Games, in both platform and springboard. She has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Marriage
She married Karl Pope (a USC basketball player) in 1959. They were married until her death in 1995. The couple had five children. After the Olympics, the family moved to Ojai, California, where they established the Ojai Valley Racquet Club and operated it together for more than two decades.