The controversy over the entry of male athletes in the women's event in Paris Olympics 2024 and the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat is making a lot of headlines. This is not the first time there has been a controversy in the Olympics. The Olympic Games have a long history of controversies. Meanwhile, we are telling you about an incident in the Olympics, when an HIV positive player not only participated in the tournament but also won 4 gold medals. A small mistake of this athlete could have spread the infection to many athletes, but the athletes survived.
This incident happened in Olympics
This incident is from the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. American athlete Greg Louganis participated in this Olympics. He came to play in the Olympics despite being HIV positive. The American athlete not only participated in the Olympics but also won a gold medal in the diving event. Greg Louganis is counted among the greatest divers in the world. Greg Louganis was HIV positive, he hid this fact. After quitting diving, Louganis publicly admitted to being HIV positive, for which he faced criticism.
Athletes who escaped infection
Greg Louganis competed in the 1988 Olympics. He was HIV positive in these Olympics, which he found out about 6 months ago. But he hid this from everyone. While diving in these Olympics, Greg's head hit the diving platform. In this accident, some drops of his blood got mixed in the swimming pool water. This scared Greg a lot, because due to this accident there was a risk of spreading HIV infection to other athletes entering the swimming pool. Fortunately nothing like this happened.
Made her Olympic debut at the age of 16
Greg Louganis started diving at the age of 10. He made his debut at the 1976 Olympics at the age of 16. In his very first Olympics, Greg Louganis won a gold medal in the 10 meter platform diving event.
Won 2 gold medals after suffering from HIV
Greg Louganis represented the United States in diving at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Greg was HIV positive at these Olympics, but he did not withdraw from the Olympics. At these Olympics, Greg won 2 gold medals, defending his titles in the 3 meter springboard and 10 meter platform events.
faced criticism
After retiring from his career, Greg Louganis went public with his HIV positive diagnosis. After this, he was accused of endangering the lives of other athletes due to his personal ambitions. He faced a lot of criticism for this. After this, Greg Louganis was named the mentor of the US team in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Meanwhile, he was also accused of being gay. Now after the end of his coaching career, Greg Louganis has participated in campaigns to raise awareness about gay rights and HIV. Apart from this, he has also worked in films like 'Touch Me' and 'Anchorage'.