Lawrence Andreasen


Lawrence "Larry" Edwin Andreasen was an American diver. He represented his country at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he received the bronze medal in springboard diving.
When the Cunard Line's Queen Mary ocean liner was permanently retired in Long Beach harbor in 1967 as a tourist attraction, at the grand opening festivities Andreasen dove off the ship's bridge into the harbor, delighting the crowd although the impact heavily bruised his entire upper body for days afterward.
In later years, Andreasen several times attempted to set the record for the highest dive from a bridge. On September 29, 1988 he successfully jumped from the Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, California. A 4-foot overhang meant he could not attempt a dive headfirst, thus preventing him from breaking the record. He was cited for an infraction by the police for this undertaking, and he swore off further attempts, saying "I've had it with diving... That's it, I'm retired" from the hospital where he was taken after the fall temporarily paralyzed his chest and arms.
In December 1988, he was talked down by police from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles in another attempt to break the record, later saying he "just wanted to see if he had the old Olympic stuff." On October 26, 1990, Andreasen was killed diving from the west tower of the same bridge. His death was ruled an accident.