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Historic gold winner's medal awarded to legendary American diver Greg Louganis for his victory in the men's 10-meter platform at the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics. Gilt silver, 64 mm, 156 gm, by the Korea Security Printing and Minting Corporation. The front features the traditional medal design by Giuseppe Cassioli of a ‘Seated Victory’ with the Colosseum in the background, and raised lettering, “XXIV Olympiad, Seoul, 1988”; the reverse features a sleek modern design by the Seoul Organizing Committee portraying a soaring dove of peace with a laurel branch in its beak, with the Seoul Olympic emblem above. The edge is inscribed with the event, “Diving Men Platform.” Includes its original ultramarine, red, orange, and white ribbon, and its purple velvet presentation case. Accompanied by a signed letter of authenticity from Louganis.
In 1988, Louganis made his third and final appearance as an Olympic competitor at the Seoul Summer Games. The reigning two-event champ was once again favored to win gold in both 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform diving, but a new crop of Chinese swimmers, and a devastating mistake in the preliminaries of the 3-meter event, would push Louganis to his very limit.
The preliminaries started well for Louganis, who led comfortably after eight dives. On the ninth, Louganis attempted a reverse two-and-a-half pike, a trusted go-to dive in his repertoire. He leapt, somersaulted, and then stretched out, smacking his head against the board and tearing open his scalp. He landed awkwardly in the pool, conscious but dazed and embarrassed. He swam to the side of the pool and scrambled out, unsure if his low scores on the dive would put him out of contention. Back in the locker room, Louganis broke down in tears, anguished by an injury that threatened to negate all of his hard work.
Six months earlier, Louganis had received the life-changing news that he was HIV+, a diagnosis that he would keep secret for another seven years. In addition to his rigorous training, Louganis woke up every four hours to take his medication, fighting each day to keep his body strong and his athletic dreams a reality. With two more preliminary dives to compete, Louganis began to comprehend his situation. He had enough points to qualify, but did he have enough stamina, enough heart to push through for another podium finish? When his coach, Ron O'Brien, leaned over to console Louganis, the diver peered back with his decision: ‘We've worked too long and hard to get here. I'm not going to give up now.’
With four stitches and a concussion, Louganis strolled back to the pool, nailed the two toughest dives of his life, and qualified for the finals. For Louganis, the worst was behind him. The accident and its threat to derail everything renewed his focus while placing Louganis in the rare role of underdog. As he had done four years prior in Los Angeles, Louganis performed his final 11 dives in spectacular fashion, building an impressive lead that allowed him a moment of well-deserved respite. When his last challenger missed their mark, Louganis breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that, against all odds, the 3-meter gold medal was his once more.
One week later, and for the second consecutive Summer Games, Louganis secured the gold medal sweep. Like the 3-meter springboard before, the finale for the 10-meter was not without its share of high-stakes drama. Trailing Chinese diver Xiong Ni, a future three-time Olympic gold medalist, Louganis performed a 3.4 difficulty dive in his last attempt and earned 86.70 points. The score was enough to surpass Ni by a mere 1.14 points and land Louganis the gold with a score of 638.61 to 637.47.
