Greg louganis olympics
Greg Louganis | U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
Diving
Olympian in Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, Seoul 1988 Olympic Games
January 29, 1960
Birthplace:
El Cajon, California
Hometown:
Santa Ana, California
College:
University of Miami
University of California, Irvine
hall of fame
Diving
Olympian in Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, Seoul 1988 Olympic Games
January 29, 1960
Birthplace:
El Cajon, California
Hometown:
Santa Ana, California
College:
University of Miami
University of California, Irvine
Greg Louganis became the first male diver to sweep the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform events in consecutive Olympics Games.
In the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, Greg Louganis became the first male diver ever to sweep the diving events – the three-meter springboard and 10-meter platform – in consecutive Olympic Games. But the way in which Louganis achieved this feat makes it even more impressive.
It was during the preliminary dives in the three-meter competition that Louganis smacked his head off the platform while attempting a 2 ½ reverse somersault in a tuck position. Louganis, though bloodied and having sustained a concussion, was able to get out of the pool on his own power and still qualified for the finals.
In the platform finals one week later, Louganis showed no signs of fear, going for a 3 ½ reverse somersault in a tuck position – the so-called Dive of Death that took the life of Russian diver Sergei Chalibashvili at the 1983 University Games, when Louganis was climbing up the tower as the next diver. Louganis, though, nailed the dive and soon had four gold medals on his resume – an accomplishment that was even more amazing when considering that Louganis would have been a heavy favorite for two more medals except for the U.S. boycott of the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
Louganis’s career was nothing short of spectacular. At age 16, he won the silver medal in the 10-meter platform competition. At the 1982 World Championships, he became the first diver ever to score a perfect 10 from all seven judges. At the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, he cruised to a pair of gold medals. He finished his career with 47 national championships and 13 world championships.
Louganis, who has gained notoriety as an LGBTQ activist, was a mentor to the U.S. Diving Team at the 2012 London Games and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
HALL OF FAME INDEX
MEDAL RESULTS
1976 | Montreal | 10m Platform | Silver |
1984 | Los Angeles | 3m Springboard | Gold |
1984 | Los Angeles | 10m Platform | Gold |
1988 | Seoul | 3m Springboard | Gold |
1988 | Seoul | 10m Platform | Gold |
TICKETS NOWON SALE
DISCOUNTS FOR MILITARY, FIRST RESPONDERS, SENIORS, GROUPS AND MORE!
BUY TICKETS
RELATED GALLERY
- Sint excepteur
connect with us
NEXT UP
- SPORT:
- Swimming
- BORN: 08. 23.1982
- Vallejo, California
One of the best swimmers who has ever competed for Team USA, Natalie Coughlin won 12 medals over the course of three Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012).
- SPORT:
- Basketball, Track and Field, Alpine Skiing & Coach
David Kiley competed at five Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball, track and field, and alpine skiing. He won a total of 13 Paralympic medals.
- SPORT:
- Figure skating
- BORN: 07.07.1980
- Torrance, California
Michelle Kwan sits as the most decorated figure skater – male or female – in the United States, having won 43 championships.
- SPORT:
- Swimming
- BORN: 06.01.1964
- Orange, California
Swimmer Trischa Zorn-Hudson is the most successful athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games, having won 55 medals, including 41 gold medals, over seven Paralympics.
Greg Louganis - Olympics - UCI Athletics
Baseball Baseball: Facebook Baseball: Twitter Baseball: Instagram Baseball: Tickets Baseball: Schedule Baseball: Roster Baseball: News Basketball Basketball: Facebook Basketball: Twitter Basketball: Instagram Basketball: Tickets Basketball: Schedule Basketball: Roster Basketball: News Cross Country Cross Country: Facebook Cross Country: Twitter Cross Country: Instagram Cross Country: Schedule Cross Country: Roster Cross Country: News Golf Golf: Facebook Golf: Twitter Golf: Instagram Golf: Schedule Golf: Roster Golf: News Soccer Soccer: Facebook Soccer: Twitter Soccer: Instagram Soccer: Tickets Soccer: Schedule Soccer: Roster Soccer: News Tennis Tennis: Facebook Tennis: Twitter Tennis: Instagram Tennis: Schedule Tennis: Roster Tennis: News Track & Field Track & Field: Facebook Track & Field: Twitter Track & Field: Instagram Track & Field: Schedule Track & Field: Roster Track & Field: News Volleyball Volleyball: Facebook Volleyball: Twitter Volleyball: Instagram Volleyball: Tickets Volleyball: Schedule Volleyball: Roster Volleyball: News Water Polo Water Polo: Facebook Water Polo: Twitter Water Polo: Instagram Water Polo: Schedule Water Polo: Roster Water Polo: News Basketball Basketball: Facebook Basketball: Twitter Basketball: Instagram Basketball: Tickets Basketball: Schedule Basketball: Roster Basketball: News Cross Country Cross Country: Facebook Cross Country: Twitter Cross Country: Instagram Cross Country: Schedule Cross Country: Roster Cross Country: News Golf Golf: Facebook Golf: Twitter Golf: Instagram Golf: Schedule Golf: Roster Golf: News Indoor Track Indoor Track: Facebook Indoor Track: Twitter Indoor Track: Instagram Indoor Track: Schedule Indoor Track: Roster Indoor Track: News Soccer Soccer: Facebook Soccer: Twitter Soccer: Instagram Soccer: Tickets Soccer: Schedule Soccer: Roster Soccer: News Tennis Tennis: Facebook Tennis: Twitter Tennis: Instagram Tennis: Schedule Tennis: Roster Tennis: News Track & Field Track & Field: Facebook Track & Field: Twitter Track & Field: Instagram Track & Field: Schedule Track & Field: Roster Track & Field: News Volleyball Volleyball: Facebook Volleyball: Twitter Volleyball: Instagram Volleyball: Tickets Volleyball: Schedule Volleyball: Roster Volleyball: News Water Polo Water Polo: Facebook Water Polo: Twitter Water Polo: Instagram Water Polo: Schedule Water Polo: Roster Water Polo: News Buy Now Ticket Central Account Login Jr. Anteater Club Student Tickets Ticket Interest Form Alumni Ticket Interest Form Baseball Baseball Staff Directory Mission Statement Facilities Community Outreach History Jobs General Releases Visitors Compliance Academic/Student Services Sports Medicine Strength & Conditioning Features Camps Home Registration & Information Registration Forms Parking & Directions Lunch Menu Accomodations FAQs #ZotOn Community Page Tickets Home Parking & Directions Visitors Bren Events Center Anteater Ballpark Anteater Stadium Other Facilities Social Media Directory Downloadable Schedules Game Broadcasts UCI Mobile App E-Newsletters Emoji Keyboard Amazon Alexa Spirit Squad, Band, & Mascot Antourage Jr. Anteater Club Traditions Black & Blue Rivalry Series Donate Anteater Club Team Store Camps Home Camp Calendar Registration & Information Parking & Directions Accomodations Frequently Asked Questions Camps Interest Form
Search:
Search Button
Greg Louganis (diving) - Four-time Olympic champion. Olympteka.ru. Olympteka.ru
Greg Louganis is an American diver. Four-time Olympic champion. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he won the 10-meter platform and 3-meter springboard, and repeated his success at the 1988 Games in Seoul.
Started gymnastics as a child, but later switched to diving. He first showed himself at the junior competitions in Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs), when he was 11 years old. At 1976 at the Olympic Games in Montreal, Greg Louganis won a silver medal in diving from a 10-meter platform. In 1978, he became a two-time winner at the US National Championships. He missed the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow due to the boycott of the Games announced by the American government.
World champion in platform diving (1978, 1982, 1986), ski jumping (1982, 1986).
Having completed his sports career, he tried himself on the theater stage.
B 19In 95, in his autobiographical book Breaking the Surface , co-authored with Eric Marcus, Louganis admitted to being infected with the HIV virus.
In 1997, Louganis' autobiography was filmed by Canadian director Stephen Hilliard Stern as Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story.
Greg Louganis Olympic results
1988 Seoul Diving
Discipline | Rounds | Place | Results | |
---|---|---|---|---|
men, 3m springboard | Qualification | 3 | 629. 67 Q | |
Final | 1 | 730.80 | ||
Final position | gold | 730.80 | ||
men, 10 m tower | Qualification | 1 | 617.67 Q | |
Final | 1 | 638.61 | ||
Final position | gold | 638.61 |
1984 Los Angeles Diving
Discipline | Rounds | Place | Results | |
---|---|---|---|---|
men, 3m springboard | Qualification | 1 | 752.37 Q | |
Final | 1 | 754.41 | ||
Final position | gold | 754.41 | ||
men, 10 m tower | Qualification | 1 | 688. 05 Q | |
Final | 1 | 710.91 | ||
Final position | gold | 710.91 |
1976 Montreal Diving
Discipline | Rounds | Place | Results | |
---|---|---|---|---|
men, 3m springboard | Qualification | 8 | 530.85 Q | |
Final | 6 | 528.96 | ||
Final position | 6 | 528.96 | ||
men, 10 m tower | Qualification | 1 | 583.50Q | |
Final | 2 | 576.99 | ||
Final position | silver | 576.99 |
Profile last updated: March 15, 2012
OUR PROJECT TOKYO 2020 (2021) |
Diver Greg Louganis in the 80s seemed invincible, having a huge lead over his rivals: super difficult elements brought 4 Olympic gold.
The underside of his success is monstrous health problems: several times an American could finish his career and generally thought that he would not live to be 30 years old.
Also, at the 1988 Games in Seoul, Greg was afraid that he had infected other athletes with HIV. Here is his story.
Greg was abandoned by his parents when he was less than a year old. As an adult, he found them (and seemed to even understand)
Greg was born in 1960 in El Cayon, California. The parents, who are of Swedish and Samoan origin, gave the boy to an orphanage when he was 8 months old.
A new family was found quickly - Greg was adopted by Francis and Peter Louganis: Peter once moved to the USA from Greece, so the child got a Greek surname. Subsequently, the new parents told Greg about the adoption, and he started looking for the real father and mother: he found the Samoan Tuwal Lutu in 1984, and his mother only in 2017 thanks to DNA tests.
The very fact of parental abandonment weighed heavily on Louganis: “It always seemed to me that if my real parents didn't love me, then no one else could. Then I got out of control and didn’t let anyone near me.” Subsequently, Greg was reassured only by the knowledge that the parents came to the orphanage for the sake of his own future: they did not have money to support the child.
Greg was attracted to sports since childhood: at the age of 1.5 he was engaged in dancing, acrobatics and gymnastics, at three he competed and trained every day. Asthma and allergies did not interfere - on the contrary, the doctors advised me to do even more actively.
Greg didn't resist: he took trampoline lessons, and then, when he was 9, he became interested in diving: then the family moved into a house with a large swimming pool.
Out of curiosity, Luganis tried to perform tricks of jumping on a trampoline right in the pool - when his mother saw this, she was so scared for her son that she took him to diving lessons.
Stuttering, crooked knees, many phobias - Louganis overcame everything, and made some things an advantage
Jumping was not easy for Greg for several reasons:
1) Little Louganis was not talkative at all, slowed down - he stuttered and suffered from dyslexia. According to Greg's recollections, at home, his older sister finished all the phrases for him, because he could not formulate a thought for a long time.
At school, of course, his sister was not around, so he did not open his mouth there at all. Because of this, Greg was constantly laughed at and made fun of by classmates. More-often beat and called a niger because of the dark skin color-so he developed self-doubt, which greatly interfered in sports.
2) At the same time, Greg began to complain of pain in his legs: it turned out that his knees were developing abnormally. Doctors advised the boy to stop playing sports, otherwise there was a risk of disability.
Luganis did not obey: over the years, his legs became significantly twisted, although this did not interfere with him - at an adult level, it even helped. By crouching while jumping, he could monitor the situation through the space between his legs, although jumpers with normal legs do not have such an opportunity.
3) Surprisingly, Greg was afraid of heights. In fact, he was afraid of many things. His coach Ron O'Brien immediately noticed the potential in the boy, but doubted that he would cope with phobias.
Louganis coped by acting on the principle “to overcome fear, you need to face it”. For example, he suffered from ophiophobia - the fear of snakes - and bought a boa constrictor at a pet store. Gradually, the fear went away: Greg looked after the snake, fed and treated. Something similar happened with the jumps, although it took much more time: Louganis progressed, but the fear remained.
At one of the tournaments, two-time Olympic champion Sammy Lee noticed him: “When I saw Greg, I immediately understood that he would be the greatest diver if he found the right coach.” They soon began working together.
By the age of 16, Louganis won many tournaments in the US and qualified for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. But he was not lucky at the Games: before the performance on the springboard, his tooth ached badly - because of the pain, Greg could not concentrate and took only 6th place. The option with painkillers was not considered - the athlete was afraid that he would fail the doping test, and went to the dentist.
On the platform, the performance turned out better - silver. At the award ceremony, champion Klaus Dibiasi leaned over to Louganis and whispered: "In 4 years you will be standing in my place."
He was afraid to crash on the platform - and miraculously did not see how it happened with a competitor
Probably, DiBiase would have been right, but politics intervened: the US team boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, where Louganis, already a world champion, really wanted to. So much so that I thought about the possible citizenship of Greece (the father's homeland), but because of problems with the documents, it did not work out.
In 1982, Greg took two more World Championship golds, the first ever to receive 10 points for a jump from each of the seven judges.
And in 1983 something happened that made Louganis almost quit his favorite sport. Despite all the successes, the fear of jumping persisted: most of all, the American feared that one day he would hit the platform with his head and break. At competitions, he pushed these fantasies, but the phobia still prevented him from learning new elements.
For the Universiade-83 in Edmonton, Greg mastered the most difficult back somersault on three and a half turns with a tuck (307C). Before Luganis, only one person in the world had mastered such a jump - the Soviet athlete Sergei Shalibashvili, who also came to Edmonton.
It so happened that Shalibashvili spoke just in front of Luganis. Greg watched the jumps of all competitors, but when the Soviet jumper was about to perform 307C, he turned away. Louganis knew that he, too, would have to spin in the hardest jump, and did not want to shoot down and scare himself, looking at Shalibashvili's attempt.
This decision probably saved Greg's career: in that attempt, Shalibashvili hit his head on a concrete platform, breaking his skull in several places. It was not possible to get him out of a coma - 6 days later, the Soviet athlete died.
“It was like I knew something terrible was going to happen. And then he felt the platform shake and heard a scream. Only then did I open my eyes. I ran to the pool and saw blood in the water. A lot of blood. I already wanted to jump there for Sergey, but they stopped me.
Later, Luganis admitted that if he had seen how Shalibashvili hit, he probably would no longer be able to jump himself. He recalled how in 1979 he made the same mistake and crashed his head into the platform: the only thing that saved him was that the platform was wooden - but Greg still lost consciousness for 20 minutes.
Then, at the Universiade-83, Luganis got ready and made a sterile 307C by jumping into the bloody pool.
Homosexuality and HIV-positive status - Louganis hid it from coaches 100 points. Before the last jump on the tower, Louganis listened to the music from the movie "Chariots of Fire" and talked to his beloved teddy bear named Gar to calm down.
Around the same time, Greg became aware of his homosexuality - he started a relationship with his own manager Jim Babbitt, but their union quickly fell apart. Babbitt constantly stole from Greg, beat him and once raped him with a knife to his throat.
Shortly after the breakup, Babbitt died of AIDS. Six months before the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Luganis passed the tests, and the result was staggering - they found HIV. Greg wanted to quit the sport, but the doctor dissuaded him by prescribing an antiviral drug to be taken every 4 hours.
At first, Greg wanted to tell the coaches and the USOC: “It was really hard for me. I felt that the committee should know about my illness. What if I can't compete in the Olympics because of this?
But in the end he kept silent - only the closest people knew about the disease, and Luganis resigned himself to the fact that he would not live to 30 years.
Seoul 1988 incident: head bashed, blood in the pool, doctor without gloves
Greg did go to Seoul 1988, and there was a wild incident in the qualification of the 3m springboard.
Louganis hit his head on the springboard after a jump error, suffering a concussion. This did not prevent him from reaching the final - Greg took gold there, thinking not about titles at all.
Because of the blow, he cut the skin on his head - and some blood spilled into the pool. Team doctor James Puffer rushed to Louganis to quickly stitch up the wound. Greg wanted to tell him he was HIV positive, but he didn't dare. It wasn't until Puffer was done with the wound that Louganis realized the doctor hadn't even put on gloves.
In fact, Puffer was required to wear gloves, but the wound on Louganis' head scared him so much that he rushed to help, forgetting everything else. According to Louganis himself, he was paralyzed with fear when he thought that Puffer and the other jumpers might become infected because of his blood. But telling someone about it was even scarier.
At those Games, Greg took another gold, becoming 4-times, but, as his coach recalled, there was no smile on the athlete's face after the award.
Luganis kept a secret about the disease and the incident in Seoul-1988 for 7 years - only in 1995 did he admit that he was HIV-infected. At the same time, Dr. Puffer took an HIV test, which - to the delight of both James and Greg himself - turned out to be negative. “This is all very sad. I'm talking about Greg's illness. To speak or not to speak about HIV status is the right of any person. He can admit it when he sees fit, ”Puffer said when he learned about Louganis’s diagnosis.
Some athletes, after Greg's confession, asked the IOC to test all participants in the Games for HIV, but the committee was skeptical about this idea. “I don't think it makes sense. It will be useless. And it’s just stupid,” said the head of the IOC medical commission, Alexander de Merode.
Later, experts confirmed that it is almost impossible to get HIV through the blood in the pool. First, blood dissolves in huge volumes of water. Secondly, the chlorine contained in the water kills HIV. Thirdly, the athletes would not have become infected through the skin anyway - only if Greg's blood got into their open wounds. Only Dr. Puffer really took risks, but everything worked out for him.
"You can't forgive for this." Louganis was criticized by athletes, but defended by the media and officials
American diver Wendy Lucero: “I think Greg had the right to remain silent about the diagnosis, but he had to be honest with the doctor. The doctor was in danger! He had to confess."
Head of the 1988 Seoul Organizing Committee Seo Chik Pak: “It's a pity that Louganis participated in the Olympic Games knowing his HIV status. From a moral point of view, he did absolutely wrong, especially when he got injured and bled.”
Dick Kazmaier, a well-known American football player at that time, did not spare Greg either: “He cannot be forgiven. Louganis should have more respect for the people around him. Look at the NBA - any basketball player who gets hurt during a game immediately leaves the court.
Athletes with a positive HIV status, according to the rules of the IOC, may well participate in the Games - but only with the permission of the medical staff, who must determine whether the athlete will not put himself or others at risk. Of course, Greg did not receive approval from the doctors.
But the head of the US Diving Federation, Steve McFarland, said in 1995 that Louganis had every right to remain silent about his HIV status, even if he violated the rules and put others at risk: “We live in a country that respects privacy and freedom the words. I can’t imagine a situation where we will require every athlete to have a medical history before being allowed to compete.”
US NOC spokesman Mike Moran was of the same opinion: “It is not our intention to test all athletes for HIV. People need to understand that the athletes on the US Olympic team represent diversity and all aspects of America. We are not going to regulate it in any way, shape it or change it.”
In general, in 1995, the American media defended Greg in the situation with blood in the pool. But Dr. Puffer was accused of negligence, because wearing gloves is his direct duty.
Luganis himself hopes that his story will serve as a lesson for everyone.
Life after sport: coaching, books, and dog training
In 1996, Greg Louganis wrote the autobiographical book Breaking the Surface, which was made into a movie a year later.
After retiring from sports, he acted in films and played in plays (he became interested in theater in his student years). He also got a lot of dogs, most of which he named after characters from Harry Potter, and participated in training competitions. At 19Greg's book "For Your Dog's Life: A Complete Guide to Grooming" was published in 1999.
In 2010, Louganis began his coaching career, working with people of all ages in Fullerton (California), and in London 2012 and Rio 2016 he was the coach of the US diving team.
Greg is also an LGBTQ+ rights activist and lecturer on HIV. He is sure that people need to learn more about this disease in order not to repeat his mistakes.