A gold medal paid for in blood - Olympic diver Greg Louganis' story
Greg Louganis recalls the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, when an accident that should have ended his career instead defined his courage
His fabled accomplishments occurred on a board, above a pool, across an international sports stage upon which he became one of the greatest of Olympic athletes.
Yet Greg Louganis is most frequently reminded of his past glory when he gets a haircut. "Everyone who touches my head wants to see the scar," he says. "They're always like, 'Oh, my God, is it still there, can I touch it'?"
Twenty-five years ago, the scar was a wound that bled its way into Olympic history. It emerged from an unforgettable moment of terror, followed by an equally memorable act of triumph. It not only shaped Louganis' scalp, but, as the world later learned, it provided a new definition of human strength.
"Somebody once said that, at that moment, I was the toughest sissy in the world," Louganis says with a grin.
I heard a big hollow thud. I thought, what was that? Was that my head?
At the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, Louganis hit his head on the end of the board during a reverse somersault dive in the preliminaries of the three-metre springboard competition. Less than 30 minutes after suffering a cut that eventually required five stitches, he climbed back up on the board and executed the best-scored dive of the day, leading to an eventual gold medal that helped cement his status as the greatest male diver yet.