Amazing Moments in Olympic History: Greg Louganis

Three-time Olympian Greg Louganis has gone down in history as one of the best divers ever when he won two consecutive gold medals in the springboard and platform events at the 1984 and 1988 Games. But it is not only his exceptional diving which has made him one of the best remembered Olympic athletes. He is also known for his ability to overcome incredible adversity.

The native of El Cajon, Calif., who had been adopted at nine months old, had grown up taking aerobics, gymnastics and dance. When his parents saw him doing flips into the pool, they signed him up for diving lessons at age 10. One year later he competed in diving at the Junior Olympic Games and received a perfect 10.

Throughout his youth, Louganis said he was ridiculed for his “feminine” tastes even though only close friends and relatives knew he was gay. Fellow divers and athletes would hang offensive, harassing signs around the locker room and dormitories for him — and everyone else — to see. According to Louganis, society thinks a gay man shouldn’t be playing sports, let alone competing at an elite level.

Louganis took the mockery hard, but he still pursued diving. He participated in his first Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976. The 16-year-old secured his first Olympic podium appearance, earning a silver medal in the platform event.

He trained for the next four years, hoping to compete in the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, but the United States boycotted those Games. Four years later, however, he earned a pair of gold medals in the springboard and platform events at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games -- a feat which had not been accomplished since 1928.

Before his third and final Olympic appearance in 1988, Louganis decided to get himself tested for HIV. When the test came back positive, he wanted to give up diving and competing in those Games, but he was convinced otherwise. He went to the Games, but only a close circle of friends knew of his medical condition.

Louganis was 28 when he competed in Seoul, and despite competing against several divers who were half his age, he again captured Olympic gold medals in the springboard and platform events.

But his gold-medal performances were anything but easy. During the preliminary round of the springboard event, while performing a 2 ½ pike, he hit his head on the board. He suffered a concussion and required stitches in his head, but somehow managed to continue through the preliminary round and qualify for the final. In the final round, he repeated that same dive and wound up winning the gold medal.

That wasn’t the only part of that story which was extraordinary. When Louganis hit his head on the board, he was not only concerned about his chances to win an Olympic gold medal but also was worried about the ramifications of his not informing officials about being HIV positive. No Olympic officials were aware of his medical condition, and the doctor who stitched him up was not wearing protective gloves. Years later, the doctor underwent tests for HIV and results were negative.

Following the 1988 Games, Maxwell House and the U.S. Olympic Committee presented him with the Spirit Award, which recognizes an “Olympic athlete who had best exhibited the ideals of the Olympic spirit, demonstrated extraordinary courage and contributed significantly to the sport.” Little did anyone know how much spirit he possessed.

In 1994, Louganis came out to the public about being gay and HIV positive. He wrote a New York Times bestselling memoir titled “Breaking the Surface,” and he currently still shares his life story today as a motivational speaker.

Louganis remains an outstanding role model in addition to being a permanent fixture in Olympic history.

Tags: 1980, 1984, 1988, Amazing Moments, Greg Louganis, USA Diving