Watch the Video >>>
UC Irvine alum Greg Louganis is a four-time Olympian, five-time Olympic medalist and four-time Olympic gold medalist diver. Heralded by some as the “greatest American diver and greatest diver in history”, the former Anteater shared some of the memories and experiences of the Olympics with The Big West’s Chloe Clark.
 
Louganis was already a legend while still a minor, winning a silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 10m platform at the age of 16.
 
“Each Olympics was a totally different experience and was also in a different place in my life," Louganis said. “In 1976, I was still in high school. I was friends with the Soviet divers at the time because they were closer to my age. We’d have balloon fights and pranks.”
 
The So Cal native originally attended the University of Miami, before transferring back home to UC Irvine and graduated in 1983 with a degree in theater and a minor in dance. Louganis was a favorite for two golds in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, but the United States decided to boycott the event. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, with record scores and leads, the former Anteater won gold medals in both the 3m springboard and 10m tower diving events.
 
“1984 was in Los Angeles. It was right in my back yard, and it was great. My parents and friends could be there, and I won two gold medals. It was a dream come true experience for me. I was in the finals, especially in the 10m platform, I just felt like a dance, it was pretty effortless.”

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Louganis suffered a concussion in the preliminary rounds of the 3m springboard. Despite the injury, the veteran continued to compete in the finals and earn gold in the event. In the 10 m finals, Louganis won the gold medal in comeback fashion, performing a 3.4 difficulty dive on the last attempt, earning 86.70 points for a total of 638.61, surpassing silver medalist Xiong Ni by only 1.14 points.
 
“I went on to Seoul, South Korea and got two more gold medals and that was challenging because, six months prior to the Olympic games in 88 I was diagnosed HIV positive. There was a lot of stress and tension surrounding that Olympic Games.”
 
“Each one was different but also pulling the best out of you, I think that that is, to tap into the best that I had available to me at the moment in time.”