Considered the greatest diver in history, Greg Louganis is the only
male to win gold medals on both 3 meter springboard and 10 meter
platform in consecutive Olympic Games (1984, 1988). A trained actor,
dancer, model and spokesman, Greg's wide repertoire of skills keeps him
in demand and in the public eye.
Full biography
Early life
Greg Louganis was adopted at 9 months by Frances and Peter Louganis,
who lived in Lemon Grove, CA, just outside of San Diego. Teased and
bullied as a child for the dark skin he inherited from his Samoan
father and for his learning "differences," he turned to what he could
do well: sport. His first love was gymnastics and by nine years old, he
was a "seasoned performer on the local talent show and
convalescent-home circuit," (Breaking the Surface).
In 1968, Greg's mom took him to diving practice to keep him from
breaking his neck doing stunts off his backyard diving board. He wasn't
crazy about the sport at first, but his interest grew when he
discovered he was quite good at it.
At the age of 11, Greg entered the national Junior Olympics. During the
tough competition, Greg's mom took him outside to find out why he was
struggling. He told her he was afraid of letting everyone down. She
reassured him, saying that he would always be her son and no matter
what, she would always love him. He went back to the pool and moved
from twelfth place to tie for second. Those words stayed with him and
helped him through every competition in his career.
First Olympics: 1976 Montreal, silver medal, platform (16 years old)
Five years later, Greg was working with diving legend Dr. Sammy Lee.
Dr. Lee helped teach Greg to be a fighter, lessons that would be
invaluable later in life. At sixteen years old, Greg qualified for the
1976 Montreal Olympic Games, where he won an Olympic silver medal on
10m platform. Four years later, in peak form, Greg was one of the many
athletes to suffer from the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games. It
was widely expected that he would win gold medals in Moscow.
University Years
In 1978, Greg entered the University of Miami on a full diving
scholarship and studied theater as part of the BFA program. In 1980, in
order to dive with coach Ron O'Brien, he transferred to UC Irvine, also
on an athletic scholarship. He graduated in 1983 with a major in drama
and a minor in dance. As part of the drama department, Greg was dance
captain and a lead player in a production of Pippin and assistant
choreographer for The Gondoliers.
Olympic Champion: Securing his place in history
At the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, Greg became the second man in
the history of the sport to win gold medals in both springboard and
platform, the first being Pete Desjardins in 1928. Following the
Olympics, Greg's life was full of appearances, exhibitions, speaking
engagements, commercials and modeling. But his time to celebrate was
brief; soon he was training again for what would be one of his greatest
challenges.
By 1988, Greg's physique had changed a little and he was twice as old
as his competition on the Chinese diving team. He had learned he was
HIV-positive and was struggling with the physical and emotional toll of
his status. Many people will remember the infamous scene during the
diving preliminary competition at the Seoul Olympics when Greg,
comfortably in first place, performed a reverse two and ½ pike and hit
his head on the diving board. For most divers, an accident that severe
would be competition ending, if not career ending. But not for Greg...
the consummate competitor... the consummate performer.
Despite the concussion, the four stitches, the pain, and his
overwhelming fear of spreading HIV, Greg continued the competition and
qualified for the finals in third place. He came back in the finals to
win gold in the men's three-meter springboard event. On the ten-meter
platform, he was neck and neck with his Chinese opponent, 14-year-old
Xiong Ni, throughout the competition. The fight for gold came down to
the last dive. Xiong Ni's was near perfection, but it wasn't enough. By
a difference of only 1.14 points, Greg won gold and earned the
distinction of being the only man ever to win gold medals in both
springboard and platform in two consecutive Olympics.
Coming out and HIV
In February 1995, Greg shocked the world when, courageously, he
announced on Barbara Walter's 20/20 and The Oprah Winfrey Show that he
is gay and HIV-positive. The interviews were in advance of the release
of his autobiography Breaking the Surface (co-written with Eric
Marcus), which detailed the struggles he'd faced on his journey to gold
medal glory.
Freed from the secrets he'd carried through his life, Greg pursued his
other great loves - animals and acting. He began training and showing
dogs, co-authoring the book, For the Life of Your Dog, with Betsy
Sikora Siino in 1999. He has appeared in eight films, including
narrating a dramatization of Breaking the Surface, starring Mario
Lopez. He has appeared in numerous television shows and been
interviewed countless times.
Champion for all time
In the spring of 2012, Greg is living a busy life filling many roles,
including mentoring the 2012 U.S. Olympic diving team, acting as Vice
President for the U.S. Olympian & Paralympian Association, traveling the world as a
judge for the Red Bull Cliff Diving Tour, running training camps and
authoring a new book, both on creative learning and peak performance,
and of course, modeling and acting. But perhaps closest to his heart is
the work he does to raise awareness and support for various
philanthropic organizations dealing with animals, diversity (GLBT),
learning differences and HIV/AIDS.
