perfect score

Olympic legend Greg Louganis reveals the reason why he’s auctioning off his gold medals 

By · 23 comments · Updated on January 26, 2024
Greg Louganis
Greg Louganis (Photo: Shutterstock)

For decades, Olympic legend Greg Louganis has been a leading voice for LGBTQ+ inclusion and a devout advocate for people living with HIV.

And this Pride Month, he plans to auction off three of his gold medals to support HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ organizations.

Louganis, a five-time medal winning Olympian, will be selling his Olympic Medals at Bonhams’ auction house in Los Angeles.

“Each medal has a story, and to be able to share that story, [a story that] can live on beyond me, it can do some good,” he told Yahoo News. “But also, 10% of the proceeds are going to the Damien Center, which is an HIV/AIDS service organization. They provide services for the HIV/AIDS community, whether it be housing, medical, dental, mental health, they have a food bank, they’re bursting at the seams.”

Louganis, 63, became a household name when he captured silver at the 1976 Olympic Games. The all-time great diver was a favorite to win gold in the 1980 Games, though the U.S. boycott prevented him from competing.

Two years later, Louganis won a couple of titles at the world championships, where he received a perfect score of 10 from all seven judges. 

At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Louganis became an American hero. He won gold in two events, trouncing all of the competition.

But his most legendary performance came four years later, when he became the only man to sweep both diving events at consecutive Olympics. Before the Seoul Games got underway, Louganis suffered a terrible accident, splitting his head open after striking down the diving board during the preliminary rounds. He suffered a concussion; and yet, bounced back to win gold.

Later, it was revealed that Louganis was dealing with much more than an injured head at the 1988 Olympics. He also tested positive for HIV in the lead-up to the Games.

Louganis publicly came out as gay at the 1994 Gay Games, and revealed he was HIV-positive in his 1995 autobiography.

“Now, my thought at that time … I was training in Florida, and so I was gonna pack up my bags, move back to California, lock myself in my house and wait to die,” he told Yahoo. “That’s what I thought. But my doctor, who’s also my cousin, said, ‘The healthiest thing for you to do is just continue training, you trained so hard to get here. We don’t know how long you’ve been positive, and we’ll just treat you very aggressively.’

Thirty-five years after his HIV diagnosis, Louganis is living a vibrant and prosperous life, and in position to give back. He’ll be auctioning off his 1988 gold medal (estimated to be worth between $800,000 and $1.2 million) along with his 1984 gold ($600,000 to $900,000) and 1976 silver ($200,000 to $300,000).

The medals will go on tour in Los Angeles, New York and London before going on sale Sept. 14. The auction will take place at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex, where Louganis trained as a child.

Though Louganis was an icon throughout the ’80s and ’90s –he also starred in one of the sexiest bank ads we’ve ever seen— gay rumors dogged him during his diving career. Despite making Olympic history, Louganis’ graceful silhouette never landed the cover of Wheaties.

He blamed homophobia for the snub.

Louganis eventually got his Wheaties cover in 2016–a symbolic representation of his iconic status.

After publicly revealing his HIV diagnosis, he became an all-around inspiration.

“It was so emotional, because thousands of people were coming out, just to meet me and get pictures, sign autographs,” said Louganis. “People would say, ‘You saved my life.’”

Scroll down for more shots of Louganis living his wonderful life, and sharing his joy with the world…

Related:

Greg Louganis reads inspiring, somewhat gut-wrenching letter to his younger self

“Those hurts, bumps and bruises, you’re going to let go of.”

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