50 greatest Summer Olympians in history
By John Buhler
12. Greg Louganis, Diving
Despite competing in a notoriously unpredictable event, California native Greg Louganis remains one of the most decorated Olympic divers of all time. In three Summer Olympiads (1976 in Montreal, 1984 in Los Angeles, and 1988 in Seoul), Louganis won five medals (four gold and one silver).
Louganis captured his first medal at the ’76 Montreal Games — a silver in the 10 m platform. Had the United States competed in the 1980 Moscow Games instead of boycotting, Louganis may well have added two or three more wares to his collection.
Eight years after Montreal, Louganis became a national hero by winning gold in both the 3m spring platform and the 10m platform. The legend continued four years later in Seoul, where Louganis winning the same two events.
In one of the more unfortunate incidents in Olympic history, Louganis — who’d been diagnosed with HIV just six months prior— hit his head on a diving platform in the preliminary trials of the Seoul Games. Despite fervent criticism, Louganis went on to compete in all scheduled events. Louganis’ HIV diagnoses became public in 1995, and he remains a staunch LGBT advocate, not to mention one of the greatest Summer Olympians of all-time.
Next: 11. Vera Caslavska.