This week in Olympic history: 16-22 September - Greg Louganis wins diving gold a day after hitting head on board
Olympics.com explores the week in Olympic sports history, highlighting Olympians' birthdays and notable sporting events from 16 to 22 September.
Diving
Welcome to This Week in Olympic Sports History, where Olympics.com remembers the most significant sports events of the past. This week, we'll cover 16 -22 September.
On this day – 20 September 1988: Louganis goes from injury to glory at Seoul
Greg Louganis won five Olympic medals in diving, but the American is best known for an incident that almost put his career in doubt.
Louganis went into his third Games at Seoul 1988 as the defending champion on both the men’s 3m springboard and the men’s 10m platform.
However, in the preliminary rounds on 19 September 1988, Louganis hit his head on the springboard while attempting a reverse 2½ pike. He gashed his head as blood leaked into the pool and suffered a concussion.
Louganis was determined to carry on yet more concerned for his competitors; years later, he admitted he was HIV positive and was terrified he would infect other athletes.
He completed the preliminaries and finished in third to advance to the final. The next day, on 20 September, Louganis returned to the board where he had been injured.
It is terrifying to think of returning to the very spot where, just 24 hours earlier, he struck his head and narrowly escaped worse. Two divers had died from similar incidents in the 1980s—one of them being Soviet diver Sergei Chalibashvili in 1983, whose tragic death Louganis witnessed.
Despite all that, Louganis knew he had to overcome his fears as he had done so many times before.
The American produced a dominant display in the pool, increasing his score by 100 points and finishing 25 points clear of the next best athlete.
Louganis won gold with a score of 730.80 to complete a comeback for the ages. Later in Seoul, he would also retain his Olympic title on the 10m platform, finishing his career with four gold medals and one silver at the Olympic Games.
His medal is an achievement to be lauded alone, though it is his perseverance and bravery to keep going amidst the circumstances that makes Louganis’ 3m springboard gold one of the great sporting moments in Olympic history.
Quote of the Week | Greg Louganis, four-time Olympic diving champion
"I was paralysed by fear. But the one thing I knew was diving. So that’s what I focused on."
Notable Olympic birthdays: 16-22 September
- Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe, Swimming, seven-time Olympic medallist) born 16 September 1983
- Curtis Tomasevicz (USA, Bobsleigh, Olympic champion) born 17 September 1980
- Ronaldo (Brazil, Football, Olympic bronze medallist) born 18 September 1976
- Aleksandr Karelin (USSR/Unified Team/Russian Federation, Wrestling, three-time Olympic champion) born 19 September 1967
- Helen Maroulis (USA, Wrestling, Olympic champion) born 19 September 1991
USA's Helen Maroulis has won three Olympic wrestling medals during her career.
- Lesley Thompson-Willie (Canada, Rowing, five-time Olympic medallist) born 20 September 1959
- Peter Prevc (Slovakia, Ski Jumping, four-time Olympic medallist) born 20 September 1992
- Anna Meares (Australia, Track Cycling, five-time Olympic medallist) born 21 September 1983
- Charlotte Cooper (Great Britain, Tennis, two-time Olympic champion) born 22 September 1870
- Felix Savon (Cuba, Boxing, three-time Olympic champion) born 22 September 1967
Make sure to check back on Olympics.com next week for more sports and Olympic history.