Greg Louganis won gold at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. But he also captured the respect of his countrymen and the rest of the world. During a preliminary dive at the 1988 Games, he hit his head on the springboard and fell formlessly into the water below. He needed stitches and a waterproof bandage to bravely win top honors with a series of flawlessly executed dives the next day. The world was riveted by his courage and athleticism. Only his coach knew that Louganis had learned just days before that he was HIV positive.
That day was a milestone in Louganis’ amazing journey. In his 1995 best-selling biography Breaking the Surface, he shared that he experienced racism as a child, and has dealt with dyslexia, depression and abuse as an adult—all while breaking ground as a high-profile openly HIV- positive gay man.
All of this—and a devotion to his dogs—has shaped Louganis into one of our community’s most respected activists.
WATERMARK: Do you ever think much about the legacy you’ve created?
GREG LOUGANIS: I never had any expectation for that. I’m very flattered people still know me. Most kids weren’t even born when I was doing my thing. It was always my intent to let my diving speak for itself. I am not very boastful; it’s not my nature. I was basically doing my job and what made sense to me. The diving gave me a platform to be heard. And then the book [Breaking the Surface] was the next step. I wanted to be heard, and I wanted to let go of the secrets I had kept for so long.
In your biography, you also mentioned your dyslexia. My ex is dyslexic, and he took a lot of encouragement from you. He’s an assistant principal now, and he didn’t think he could ever get the job.
Wow, that’s great! You see, a lot of kids are dyslexic, so that job is perfect for him. That’s the best, because it makes going through it all worth it for me.
Does the admiration get daunting?
[Laughs] At times it does, because it comes with responsibility. That’s why I stay involved in helping youth. I try to tell them that I am just a human; I tell them to be their own heroes. I want them to be better than me.
What are you working on right now?
We’re just getting our final papers for the The Greg Louganis Positively Pets Fund, a non-profit organization. I found out while doing the AIDS Walk in North Carolina a year ago that people with HIV/AIDS don’t have services for their pets. So, we’re starting a fund and looking forward to filling that void.
I know that animals mean a lot to you, and that you wrote a book, For the Love of Your Dog. But I only learned recently that you show dogs as well.
The dogs went with us on our most recent trip to the USA Senior Diving Nationals. I’ve put my hat in the ring to be president of USA Diving. Let’s see, what else? I do a lot of work with the Human Rights Campaign, working for equal rights. [Laughs] There’s always something I’m involved in. If my calendar is not full, I fill it.
In sports, where do you think we are in terms of accepting LGBT athletes?
We’ve come pretty far, I think. But it was irritating during the last Olympic Games that the media wouldn’t just come out and say [U.S. diver] Matthew Mitcham was gay. They skirted around it. They referred to “his friend” or “his companion.” They wouldn’t say “gay.” Why are we being so delicate? It wasn’t a secret; he is out. The way it was reported, it seemed like everyone was trying to weave around the issue rather than deal with it headfirst, like he has. I thought it was embarrassing, not for Matthew, but for the people doing the coverage.
And that needless delicacy bleeds over into politics and culture and other areas.
Yes, it does! I think we still need to educate. Somebody recently sent me a documentary about how people use phrases like “sexual preference,” which implies it’s a choice. Subtle word choices like that can build how people see our community.
We need to tell people the truth in a kind and generous way, before it becomes rhetoric. When people say, “You live the gay lifestyle,” we need to tell them politely: “No, that’s just my sexuality.”
So we still have a way to go?
Definitely, especially politically. We’re facing an entity that’s very powerful and organized, so people who support equal rights have to stay focused. As a community we tend to get distracted. Those distractions are a lot of fun, and a lot of times I’m all for them. But those distractions can also make us forget where we want to go, and that our ultimate goal is full equality.
