Jeanne Ellen Collier (born May 15, 1946), known by her married name as Jeanne Collier Sitzberger after 1966, is a former
American springboard
diver who swam for the Dick Smith Swim Gym in Phoenix, Arizona. She competed at the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and won a silver medal in the 3 meter springboard.
Collier was born one of five siblings on May 15, 1956, to Robert Michael and Lucy Collier, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
["Dobkins, Jim, "Ill Wind Blows Collier", ''The Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, February 18, 1965, pg. 2] Demonstrating a remarkable early talent and an affinity for the sport, she first took to diving around the age of ten, and by twelve was competing in national competitions. Distinguishing herself nationally in her early career, she attended the 1960 Olympic trials at the age of 14. After a move to Phoenix, she swam for the Dick Smith Swim Gym, and in the summer of 1961, won the 3 meter diving competition at the Jr. National Championships in Denver prior to her High School Sophomore year. At the U.S. Senior National Diving Championships in Philadelphia in 1961, Jeanne took a sixth place in the 3 meter diving event. Among an array of adult competitors, she was the second youngest. Collier was named to the 1962 All America team.
["Erickson, Ron, "Top Divers Show Skills", ''The Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, December 21, 1962, pg. 57]
Early swimming and education
Collier won the 1963 AAU Championships on the springboard. She graduated from
Xavier High School (Arizona) in Phoenix in May, 1964, where she served as Senior Class President.
1964 Tokyo Olympics
On September 4, 1964, Collier clinched a place on the U.S. Olympic team, along with Sue Gossick of Los Angeles and Patsy Willard of Phoenix, diving at the 3 meter qualifying trials for the 1964 Olympics at the Olympic Pool at Astoria, New York. Collier won the 3 meter event.
[
As the youngest member of the women's team on October 11-12, she won the silver medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, placing second in 3 meter springboard diving competition behind gold medalist Ingrid Kramer-Engel of East Germany. It was America's first medal in Tokyo. Kramer-Engel trailed for the first six dives behind American diver Patsy Willard, but went ahead in the last dive of the preliminaries, and retained the lead in the final three subsequent dives. Collier did not move into second place until her final dive, coming from well behind in the scoring, to take second place behind Kramer-Engel, and nose ahead of Patsy Willard who dropped to third place to take the bronze.][
Collier's final dive was a reverse 1 1/2 somersault with a 1 1/2 twist, considered the most difficult of the final dives, and gave her a 17.42, the highest score of the final round. American diver Patsy Willard later claimed she performed below her expectations on her final dive.][ Jeanne's diving coach Dick Smith with whom she had trained for many years at the Dick Smith Swim Gym in Phoenix was also her U.S. Diving Coach at the 1964 Olympics. In addition to Jeanne, 1964 U.S. Olympic team members who had formerly been trained by Dick Smith included Patsy Willard, Tom Gompf, and ]Lesley Bush
Lesley Leigh Bush (born September 17, 1947) is an American diver and 1964 Olympic champion in the 10-meter platform who competed for Indiana University.
Bush was born in Orange, New Jersey, on September 17, 1947. After a move, by the age of 1 ...
, who all received diving medals.
Life after diving
After the Olympics, and an exhibition tour in Japan, Collier retired from diving. Upon her return to Phoenix, she was met by an enthusiastic crowd which surprised, but pleased her. The Olympics were not yet a major attraction on American television in 1964, and were broadcast late at night.[ Because of her husband's work as a diving announcer, she would attend the Olympic games through 1980, during the years the Olympics gained a larger American audience.]["Olympic Diver Still Close to Her Sport", ''Coronado Eagle and Journal'', Volume 71, No. 23, June 14, 1984]
Collier attended Phoenix College, and Indiana University, Bloomington, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.["Lt. Gorman, Jeanne Gorman, Top U.S. Divers", ''The Muskegon Chronicle'', Muskegon, Michigan, September 5, 1964, pg. 10]
Having first met at the U.S. National Diving competition in 1962,["Erickson, Ron, "Top Divers Show Skills", ''The Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, December 21, 1962, pg. 57] Collier married Kenneth Robert Sitzberger on August 27, 1966 at St. Gregory's Church in Phoenix. Jeanne's sister Sarah served as maid of honor, with sisters Mary Beth and Patricia as attendants. Francis D. Sitzberger served as Kenneth's best man. The couple's wedding trip was to Northern California, a state where they would move around 1980, though they initially resided in Bloomington while Sitzberger completed college at Indiana. At the time of their wedding, Sitzberger was a Senior and accounting major at Indiana where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta. Sitzberger competed in diving for Indiana University, and captured a gold medal at the men's 1 meter springboard event at the 1964 Olympics where the couple continued to enjoy their friendship. At the time of their wedding, Sitzberger was a Senior and accounting major at Indiana.["Weddings, Mis. Jeanne Ellen Collier", ''The Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, June 19, 1966, pg. 101] The couple dated and corresponded sporadically after the 1964 Olympics, and Collier would attend Indiana University with Sitzberger.["Former Phoenix Resident Becomes Bride", ''The Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, August 28, 1966, pg. 112]
Sitzberger and Collier had three daughters. Before his death in 1984, Sitzberger retained a connection to his sport while working for the American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
as a commentator for diving competitions, where he had worked since around 1966.
When not engaged as a broadcaster, Sitzberger worked as a real estate executive and spent time tending to his real estate investments. He died in Coronado, California of a brain hemorrhage
The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
likely in his sleep after having been found unconscious by wife Jeanne in bed on the morning of January 2, 1984. He had struck his head on a table at a New Years party at the Sitzberger home the previous day.["Obituaries, Kenneth Sitzberger," ''Chicago Tribune,'' Chicago, Illinois, January 5, 1984, pg. 51][
]
References
External links
Jeanne Collier biography and Olympic results
sports-reference.com
Tomizowa, Roy, The Olympians, April 4, 2016, Ken Sitzberger and Jeanne Collier: Diving’s Power Couple in 1964
Olympedia Biography Jeanne Collier
September 30, 2021, Linamen, Campbell, Xpress, Newspaper of Xavier Prep School, Xavier alumnae have excelled in athletics across generations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Jeanne
1946 births
Living people
Divers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in diving
Sportspeople from Indianapolis
American female divers
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
20th-century American sportswomen