On This Date in Sports September 18, 1988: Diving Through Obstacles

Frank The Tank 9/18/2023 12:00 AM

American Diver Greg Louganis, who won two gold medals at the Los Angeles games, looks for a repeat in Seoul as he begins competing in the Olympic 3M Springboard. In the preliminary round, Louganis’ quest is thrown into peril when he hits his head on the ninth dive. Despite a concussion and receiving stitches, Louganis recovered to qualify for the final, where he won the Gold Medal again.

Greg Louganis was born in El Cajon, California, on January 29, 1960. Louganis took an interest in acrobatics and gymnastics at a young age and began taking driving lessons in his family pool at the age of nine. Showing early talent, he came under the tutelage of Sammy Lee, a two-time Olympic Champion who won Platform Gold at the 1948 Olympics in London and the 1952 Games in Helsinki. In 1976, at the age of 16, Greg Louganis qualified for the games in Montreal and won a Silver Medal in the 10M Platform. Two years later, Louganis won his first World Championship and was expected to be a Gold Medal favorite in the 1980 games in Moscow, but did not compete due to the U.S.-led boycott.

Four years later, in Los Angeles, Greg Louganis finally got his chance to shine at the Olympics. First winning, the 3M Springboard Dive by nearly 92 points over Tan Liangde with a score of 752.37, while fellow American Ronald Merriott captured the Bronze Medal. Louganis followed that up with an equally impressive performance in the 10M Platform Dive, as he finished with 688.05 points, 86 points better than American Bruce Kimball, while Li Kongzheng of China took the Bronze.

Remaining one of the top divers in world competition over the next four years, Greg Louganis’ life away from the pool was troubled. He was in an abusive relationship with Manager Jim Babbitt, who took nearly all his earnings. Shortly before he was set to repeat his diving double Gold Medal performance, Greg Louganis got devastating news when he tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. At the time, drugs used to slow the progression of the disease were in their first trial stages, with long-term survival prospects not looking good.

As Greg Louganis stepped on the 3M Springboard at the Olympics in Seoul, his HIV diagnosis was a closely guarded secret. Each Olympic diving event takes place over two days, with 11 dives in the preliminary and final rounds. The preliminary round would advance the 12 divers to the final round. Louganis was near the top of the leaderboard and a safe bet to advance to the medal round. However, on his ninth dive attempting a reverse two-and-a-half pike, Greg Louganis struck the back of his head against the diving board. Grabbing the back of his head after landing, Greg Louganis quickly got out of the pool to seek medical attention, fearing that he could spread the virus. Fortunately, the chlorine and water in the pool would promptly dilute the virus, meaning there was no danger to the other competitors.

After receiving a few stitches, Greg Louganis was ready to compete again and nailed the best dive of the competition on the next attempt to easily be one of the 12 divers to advance to the next round. The following day, Greg Louganis was flawless and won the Gold Medal with a score of 730.80, finishing 25 points better than Tan Liangde of China, while Li Deliang got the Bronze Medal. Louganis fully recovered and concluded his Olympic career by taking the Gold Medal in the 10M Platform, with 617.67 points to narrowly edge out Xiong Ni of China. Mexico’s Jesus Mena took home the Bronze Medal.

With four Olympic Gold Medals and five overall medals, Greg Louganis is widely regarded as the greatest diver of all time. Seven years after his career ended, Louganis revealed the whole story behind his Olympic scare when he revealed his HIV status in his autobiography, “Breaking the Surface.” In the years since, Louganis has become an active LGBT advocate and diving instructor.