Other names:

LOUGANIS, Gregory Efthimios

LOUGANIS, Greg

Born: 29 January 1960

Birthplace: San Diego (United States)

Nationality: United States

Sport: Aquatics

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Montreal 1976

Los Angeles 1984

Seoul 1988

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 4

Silver: 1

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 5 (78, 82, 86)

The Most Successful Male Diver

American Greg Louganis is considered the greatest diver of all time. After winning Olympic silver in the platform in 1976 as a 16-year-old, he missed the 1980 Games because of the boycott but returned to take the springboard-platform double in both 1984 and 1988. His 1988 springboard victory was the stuff of high drama, when he qualified despite striking the board with his head on the next-to-last qualifying dive. Louganis also won both titles at the World Championships of 1982 and 1986, having earlier won the platform in 1978. It is highly probable that the 1980 boycott prevented Louganis from winning the diving double at three consecutive Olympics, an unprecedented feat. Of Samoan and European descent, he studied classical dance for many years and this training provided the basis for the elegance and artistry of his performances. His superiority over his contemporaries was considerable and he held many records for the highest marks ever achieved in competition. Sadly, in the early 1990s, Louganis announced that he was HIV-positive, and had actually been so at the time of the 1988 Olympics when he struck his head on the springboard.