B. 1964-04-23, China
Gymnastics (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
(58 HP)
Olympic Competitor nr 1919
B. 1960-01-29, USA
Diving (4 gold, 1 silver)
| 1976 | 1984 | 1988 | HP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springboard | sixth | gold | gold | 20160 | |
| Platform | silver | gold | gold | 25200 | |
| 45360 |
As a child, he suffered from dyslexia, stuttering and racial abuse for his
darker skin (his natural father was Samoan).
He won a silver at Montreal and then had to miss out at Moskva. His double
at Barcelona was his fifth in world competition.
In the qualifying round for the springboard at Barcelona, he hit the back
of his head against the board. This was particularly awful for Louganis,
as he already knew he was infected with the HIV virus. He knew the water
would not pose a threat to the other competitors, but only found out later
that the doctor who treated him was not wearing surgical gloves. Luckily;
the qualifying marks did not count in the final reckoning. Despite the obviously
bad mark on that jump, he was back in half an hour for his next one. He scraped
through to the final, which he won.
He was World Champion at Springboard in 1982 and '86, at Highboard in '78,
'82 and '86.
USA
Figure Skating (2 silver, 1 bronze)
| 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | HP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | silver | bronze | 9840 | |
| Pairs | fourth | silver | 7000 | |
| 16840 |
Olympic Competitor nr 198
Olympic Competitor nr 2722
B. 1902-10-02, Kortesjärvi, Finland; D. 1984-01-10
Track & Field (1 gold)
| 1928 | HP | |
|---|---|---|
| 3000 m Steeple | gold | 9600 |
| 10000 m | 7th | 400 |
| 10000 |
Olympic Competitor nr 122
Olympic Competitor nr 2037
Olympic Competitor nr 2038
Written 2002-10-28 - last modified 2011-08-17
This page is part of the site "Full Olympians" by Herman De Wael. See here for a full Introduction.