Olympic gold medalist diver Mark Lenzi died on Monday at the age of 43 in Greenville, N.C.

Lenzi's mother told the family's hometown newspaper, The Free Lance-Star in Fredricksburg, Va., that he had been hospitalized the past two weeks due to low blood pressure, but an official cause of death hasn't been announced.

As an Olympic gold and bronze medalist, Mark was one of our country's greatest divers, and he will be missed tremendously, USA Diving chairman Bob Rydze said in a statement posted on the organization's website.

Lenzi was initially a wrestler in high school, but became captivated by Greg Louganis' performance in the 1984 Olympics and decided to switch to diving. The move proved to be a big success for Lenzi, who would go on to win a bronze and gold medal in the Olympics.

At Indiana University, he became the NCAA's diver of the year in 1989 and 1990 after sweeping the Big Ten titles in the 1-meter, 3-meter, and platform competitions.

Mark grabbed onto a dream, former Olympic teammate Matt Scoggin told USA Diving. He wasn't going to believe anything was impossible. It was amazing how rapidly he became an Olympic champion.

In his career as a diver, Lenzi won 18 international springboard championships and became the first diver to score 100 points on a single dive. He was also the first American to successfully complete a forward, four-and-a-half somersault in competition and the last American to win an Olympic diving medal since 1996.

Mark and I spoke just a few weeks ago, my heart goes out to you, Louganis wrote on the USA Diving website. There are no words to express how heartfelt a loss this is. Healing hugs, Greg.

In addition to his mother, Lenzi is survived by his wife, Dorothy, two brothers, one sister and his grandmother, Mary Cochran. Lenzi's funeral and viewing will be held Tuesday at Wilkerson Funeral Home in Greensville from 6 to 8 p.m.

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