Saturday, 23 November 2024

    Greg Louganis

    • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2024
    • Embed from Getty Images
    • Sport(s): Diving
    • Statistics: 2 3m Springboard Olympic Gold Medal (1984 & 1988)
      2 10m Platform Olympic Gold Medals (1984 & 1988)
      1 10m Platform Olympic Silver Medal (1976)
      2 3m Springboard World Championship Gold Medals (1982 & 1986)
      3 10m Platform World Championship Gold Medals (1978, 1982 & 1986)
      3 3m Springboard Pan American Games Gold Medals (1979, 1983 & 1987)
      5 10m Platform Pan American Games Gold Medals (1979, 1983 & 1987)
      Member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
    • There is no debating who is the greatest diver in American history. It is a simple answer: Greg Louganis.

      Louganis won a Silver Medal at the 10m platform in the Montreal Games, and he was building momentum for a better performance in 1980 in Moscow. That didn't happen due to the U.S. boycott, but he won Gold in both the 3m springboard and 10m platform at the 1982 Worlds and 1983 Pan Americans, and in Los Angeles, he won two Golds at those Olympics.

      Winning became part of his pedigree, again winning the 3m springboard and 10m platform at both 1986 Worlds and 1987 Pan American Games. Louganis repeated that success at the Seoul Olympics, but it was not without hurdles. Louganis struck his head on the springboard in a preliminary dive, causing a concussion and a small cut that bled into the pool. The public did not know that he was HIV-positive, having found out the diagnosis six months earlier. With public knowledge about AIDS being limited (including Louganis himself), Louganis kept his condition a secret, but he was worried that the blood in the pool might cause another diver to be infected. Of course, that didn't happen, but again, we know a lot more about HIV than we did in 1988.

      Louganis retired after Seoul, and he came out as gay in 1994 and HIV-positive the year after. He since became an advocate for gay rights and AIDS awareness.

      We are proud to nominate Greg Louganis for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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