The personality of the four-time Olympic champion Greg Luganis causes mixed emotions among his colleagues in the sports community, and among ordinary fans. But one thing is for sure, this man leaves no one indifferent. How did the American diver in water achieve such high results in this discipline that modern athletes still cannot repeat.
The beginning of the way
Greg Luganis, whose biography began rather sadly, was born in 1960 in the American town of El Cajone, California. At the age of 8 months, he was left without parents (they abandoned the baby) and only thanks to his adoptive parents could get a full-fledged family.
The people who adopted the boy had Greek roots, hence the surname. Greg’s blood flows completely different blood - Swedish and Samoan. It is difficult to say how the boy’s life would have developed if his adoptive parents had not supported him in his desire to play sports. One fine day he came to the pool, and this determined his future fate.
Way to the top
Greg Luganis got to the coach, who himself twice won the Olympic Games in diving. Sammy Lee became the person who laid the foundation for the professional excellence of the future illustrious athlete. Greg's next mentor is Ron O'Brien.
At the age of 16, a young American jumper first represents his country at the Montreal Olympics (1976). Having won the preliminary round in jumping from the 10-meter platform, he is still inferior to the famous Italian athlete Klaus Dibiasi in the final. For the Italian, Montreal's gold was the third in his sports career and shortly after the Olympics, he ends his career. Now there is simply no equal to the young Luganis.
1978 brings Greg the first gold award at the World Championships in Berlin. He is far ahead of his closest rivals, and it becomes clear that this young man is a very serious competitor.
New star
Diving is not in vain considered one of the most dangerous sports, because one awkward movement or mistake can lead to serious injury, and sometimes even to the death of an athlete.
During the match between the jumpers of the USSR and the USA, which was held in Tbilisi, Greg Luganis bumps his head on the tower during the jump and the athlete with a broken head is urgently sent to the hospital.
The 1980 Olympics was the main goal of Luganis, because he really claimed the highest award. Greg Luganis was very upset when he learned that the United States government decided to boycott the Moscow Olympics. He even wanted to urgently change his citizenship to Greek, since his father was Greek, but did not manage to draw up all the necessary documents.
But the Los Angeles Olympics brings him two gold medals, and he becomes the first jumper to succeed, starting in 1928.
Breaking down barriers - the story of Greg Luganis
The 1988 Olympics becomes the most significant in the career of an athlete. Greg Luganis is injured while jumping 2.5 turns, and breaks his head into the blood tower. He knows that he is HIV-infected, but hides it from the US team doctor and other athletes. The doctor who established this diagnosis was a cousin of Luganis, and he persuaded the athlete not to rush to report his illness, but to do it after the Olympics.
Seoul brought a gold award to the jumper, but at the same time put him before a difficult choice. Only 7 years after those competitions, Greg Luganis openly declared his unconventional sexual orientation and said that he was already infected when he performed in Suele.
Many athletes who performed their jumps in those competitions after Greg’s blood got into the water could not sleep well for a long time, fearing infection. They condemned the athlete for not telling him about his diagnosis earlier. And to some extent they were right - not a single gold of the world is worth human lives.
Life after retirement
The result of the sports career of the American jumper was 4 Olympic gold medals, 5 gold medals of the World Championship, 6 champion titles of the Pan American Games and 47 victories in the US Championships. The list is more than impressive.
But even today, Greg Luganis, whose photo often appears on the covers of sports magazines, is not idle. Despite his diagnosis and the daily struggle for life, he is actively involved in the preparation of young American jumpers in the water. Greg Luganis went to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics as a consultant to the US team.
His autobiography, which he wrote with Eric Marcus, was screened in 1997. The athlete himself was able to realize his dream and began to take part in Broadway productions and even starred in small roles in several sports-themed films.
But this is not all the hobbies of the four-time Olympic champion. In his spare time, Greg Luganis breeds Jack Russell Terriers.