Greg Louganis: Catching Up with the Long-Term HIV Survivor
Greg Louganis winning two Gold medals at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.He became the first man and only the second diver in Olympic history to sweep both diving events in two consecutive Olympics — and he did it six months after learning that he was living with HIV.
Louganis was taking AZT at the time, setting his alarm for every four hours, even waking up in the middle of the night during the competition to take the medication. "When I was in the pool, when I was competing, when I was training, HIV and AIDS didn't exist.
That was a sanctuary for me. So it was a place that I could go to, really to seek refuge from the stress of the HIV diagnosis," Louganis says.
Now at 62, Louganis is proof of what is possible: you can live and compete at the highest levels with HIV. You can win gold medals and be considered one of the greatest divers in the history of the sport.
