More than 35 years have passed since Greg Louganis won his fifth diving World title and fourth Olympic gold medal, but the star returned to the pool deck in Fukuoka to appreciate how far the sport has come.
At 63, Greg Louganis stays busy. He hosts a podcast, judges cooking competitions, and runs with two dogs in agility competitions. Diving, however, has drifted into the background. In fact, Louganis will be auctioning the last three Olympic medals he owns on September 14, including his first medal, a silver from 1976 when he was 16, and the famous 1988 gold he won after hitting his head on the board in the 10m semifinal in Seoul.
Collectively, Bonhams estimates they’re worth 1.6 to 2.4 million dollars. The proceeds will go toward funding a new building at the Damien Center, the largest AIDS service organization in the state of Indiana. (Louganis learned he was HIV positive in the late 1980s.)
In Fukuoka, the American diving legend graciously took a moment to chat, even though diving is no longer his primary focus. Here’s what he said:
Do you have any official roles in diving these days?
No. I was sports director for [Red Bull] high diving but I stepped away from that.
Have you been watching diving closely since you competed? If so, any thoughts about the sport’s progress?
I haven't been that connected. I haven't really zeroed in on what's going on, or any rule changes. It hasn't really been a high priority for me. I did what I did, but I had other interests.
But the sport has developed. In the men's 3m final, for example, we’ll see some 3.9 DDs.
Yeah. You know, I did back 3½ [with 3.6 degree of difficulty], a reverse 3 ½ [with 3.5 DD]. My list probably would still be competitive today.
Do you have any idea what it would take to snap the Chinese dominance? Their pipeline is incredible.
Matthew Mitcham, he won gold [for Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics].
It can be done.
Yeah. I mean, that's just it. You have some really great athletes. They just have to train smart.
How do you define ‘training smart?’
Training ‘as if.’ Training as if you're at the Olympic Games. I broke 700 points on 10m platform in practice before I was able to do that in the Olympics, so it's just the way that you approach your training.
[Note: at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, men performed 11 dives in the 3m final and 10 dives in the 10m final. Today, they do six in each.]
Any thoughts about Mexico's resurgence here?
It isn't anything that I study. I just appreciate the dives and the divers that are performing. Some of them I've worked with, so it's great to see their progress and how they're developing.
Which divers here have you worked with?
From high diving, Gary Hunt, and Constantin [Popovici of Romania]. I've worked with Americans Kassidy Cook. I remember Sarah Bacon when she was a little tiny thing.
What do you do now to stay in shape?
Yoga. A bit of resistance training. Just trying to stay healthy.
What do you spend most of your time on now?
Dog agility.
I understand you have two great dogs who compete in agility.
A Hungarian Pumi: G, G-man, and Pyrenean shepherd: Pax. I've also shown a Pembroke Welsh Corgi at Westminster that I co-owned with a friend. She would handle the dog and I was just kind of kennel help.
How much of your week, or how many hours per day do you spend on dog agility training?
I don't quantify it. I didn't make them sign up for 8 o'clock workouts.
When is the last time you were at a World Championship diving venue?
My last World Championships as a competitor was Madrid, ‘86. I did observe one after that. I can't remember what year but I was invited and I observed in Perth [either in 1991 or 1998].
What was the last Olympics you saw?
In person? Rio [2016]. I was working on a Brazilian show. They had legends so it was also Carl Lewis, Nadia Comaneci, Michael Johnson.
Are you in touch with a lot of Olympians from your era?
Mm hmm. We're invited to events. We meet and catch up with each other.
Any last messages for the diving fans here?
No.