Greg Louganis to part with Olympic medals for HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ causes
Former Olympic diver and LGBTQ+ rights activist Greg Louganis visited Mission Viejo this week where he started his diving career to talk about the auction.
As bubbles agitated the surface of the pool for young divers at the Mission Viejo Swim Club, Olympian Greg Louganis laid out three of the medals he won diving for the United States – and his plans to auction them off to support HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ organizations.
Mission Viejo is where Louganis first started diving and while visiting Thursday, June 8, he said that he will always have that connection with the city. Building on his early success here, Louganis went on to win five Olympic medals and is considered by many to be the greatest diver in history. Now, as an LGBTQ+ rights activist and an openly gay man who lives with an HIV diagnosis, he is selling his medals to support organizations dedicated to those causes.
Catherine Williamson, the director of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams, said the medals resonate deeply with people because of Louganis’ importance to Olympic and LBGTQ+ history, and his current tour of the country promoting the auction is strategic.
“Part of the reasons we want to hit them at this time is because Pride is happening, and we know that these medals resonate deeply with collectors in the Pride community,” Williamson said.
The three medals up for auction are his 1976 silver medal for the platform dive, his 1984 gold medal for the springboard event and his 1988 gold medal for his last dive from the platform event.
After taking silver in his first Olympic appearance, Louganis said his goal for the 1984 Games was to win two gold medals.
“That first gold medal, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got that one down,’ and I’m thinking, ‘I still got 10-meter platform,’” he recalled. Reserved during his first medal ceremony, with competition still ahead of him, Louganis openly celebrated his final score for the platform dive.
In 1988, Louganis, then 28 years old, faced China’s Xiong Ni, who was half his age. Xiong led through the rounds of competition, Louganis recalled of going into the last dive, “and just pulling it out on that last dive, winning by less than two points.”
The auction is not the first time Louganis has parted with one of his medals. He gave the medal he won for the 1988 springboard dive to Jeanne White-Ginder, Ryan White’s mother, and it is currently displayed in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Louganis sustained a head injury in the 1988 springboard preliminaries, which left him with a concussion and stitches. At the time, it was not public that Louganis had contracted HIV.
“The 1988 Olympic gold medal for men’s springboard, I gave to Jeanne White, because Ryan White, her son, was my inspiration to get through that,” Louganis said. White was diagnosed with AIDS at age 13 after a blood transfusion and gained national attention in his struggle against discrimination and for better education of the disease.
Louganis also gave the gold medal from his 1984 platform dive to his coach, Ron O’Brien.
Louganis has pledged a portion of the earnings from the auction to the Damien Center, the oldest and largest HIV/AIDS care facility in Indianapolis. The not-for-profit organization is expanding into a new 56,000-square-foot facility to serve more people.
The Olympian said he wants to raise enough money to name its welcome center in honor of White, who died 1990, and the facility’s lounge after his late mother, Frances Louganis.
In addition to the money, Louganis will be donating a sculpture created by artist Bill Mack of White to the welcome center.
Williamson said Louganis will continue to tour with the medals to raise awareness of the auction, heading to New York and London before returning to Los Angeles. She said by mid-August, a full catalog of the medals and additional memorabilia will be available online and people will be able to start placing bids. The auction for the medals will be completed on Sept.14.
Louganis’ last gold medal is expected to raise between $800,000 and $1.2 million, while his first gold medal is expected to be bid up to between $600,000 to $900,000 and the silver medal between $200,000 and $300,000.
Louganis, who is known for breaking barriers as an LGBTQ+ icon and for challenging the stigma around HIV, said he hopes his experiences convey how far the LGBTQ+ community has come and, yet, there is still so much to learn.
“I was telling a friend of mine that, sometimes, it sucks to be a pioneer. You’re paving the way so it’s easier for young people coming behind you,” Louganis said. “I’m grateful that a lot of athletes now can reap the benefits.”
His message to the LGBTQ+ community in Orange County was to be patient and true to themselves and to surround themselves with people who are trustworthy and supportive.