After the Applause
In our new series, “After the Applause”, each month, we will highlight an ISHOF Honoree and let you know what they have been up to recently. We begin the new year with an old friend of ISHOF, Micki King, 1972 Olympic Gold medalist in Diving on the 3-meter Springboard and retired Colonel of the United States Air Force.
Micki King (USA) ~ 1978 Honor Diver
For the first month of the Year, January 2026, in our New Series, “After the Applause” we highlight 1978 Honor Diver Micki King. Micki is a longtime friend of ISHOF and her ties to us go back as far as we can remember. She attended the University of Michigan and dove for Honoree Dick Kimball, back when women were not allowed to compete in college. (Kimball kept her out of sight and coached her alongside the men when no one was watching); ISHOF founding Executive Director, Buck Dawson was a Michigan man, and his father-in-law was famed Michigan swim coach, Matt Mann, so Buck and Micki met in the early days of the Hall of Fame, and even before. Then, in 1969, ISHOF started an “International Diving Meet that brought together the greatest divers from around the world and became an event that FINA would eventually take over. Micki came to Fort Lauderdale every May to dive in that meet, as well as during her college years where she would train during the College Coaches Swim Forum, held at the Hall of Fame Pool.
After Micki’s Olympic diving career ended, she was inducted into ISHOF in 1978, but she always came back to ISHOF and visited. Whether it was for an Honoree Induction Ceremony, the diving meet weekend or another event, Micki says, she just considers ISHOF home.
For the last two years, Micki has been working tirelessly with author Elaine K. Howley on her biography, “Break of A Lifetime”. The amount of work these two women put into this endeavor is certainly reflected in the story.
The book is fun, it’s inspiring, it’s historical, including the adoption of Title IX and what went into making it happen, it’s about behind the scenes at the Olympics, the USOC, and helping athletes get their voices heard! It includes Presidents, Princes, movie stars, famous athletes, and more!
Every young female athlete should have to read this book, so they understand what women before them, women like MICKI KING went through, so that they could enjoy equal rights that they have today. They take much of what they now experience for granted and don’t know the sort of things Micki King and women like her had to fight for. A MUST READ!
“Break of A Lifetime” was released in December on Amazon. We have added the link below to click on for you to purchase a copy for yourself. “I have known Micki for 50 years and I thought I knew Micki. I learned so many interesting and fascinating things from this book, I couldn’t put it down”. Her story isn’t just about diving, it’s about persistence, principle, and paving the way for others to achieve their fullest potential.
You can purchase Micki’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Lifetime-Micki-King/dp/
READ Micki King’s bio from her 1978 Induction
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1968 4th (springboard); 1972 gold (springboard); NATIONAL AAU Diving Titles: 9; NATIONAL AAU Water Polo Titles: 2; CANADIAN NATIONAL TITLES: 2 (1m springboard), 2 (3m springboard); WOMEN’S NATIONAL COLLEGIATE Title (DGWS): 1First woman to compete in the Military International Sports Council Games (CISM); Diver of the year: 1965, 1969, 1972 (springboard); 1969 (platform); First woman coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
1968, at the Mexico Olympic Games, Micki King led all women divers with two dives to go. Her Olympic gold medal was all but, in the bag, when on dive number 9, a reverse 1 1/2 somersault, she hit the board and broke her arm. She completed her last dive and finished fourth. There followed months in a cast, a year of recovery, three more years of getting back in top form, and trying again in 1972. This time she won. An Air Force officer and the Air Academy’s first woman coach, Micki missed winning the first woman’s Superstars on the last event when she skimmed and toppled a hurdle for a five second penalty. She won a National Collegiate swimming title at Michigan and was twice the winning goalie for Ann Arbor at the Women’s National AAU Water Polo Nationals. An excellent speaker, Micki was also advance person for the Air Force Football Team.