Gregory Efthimios Louganis, the greatest diver of all time, is not afraid of anything. A fan of Harry Potter and Eragon, this 58-year-old, four-time Olympic diving gold medallist believes “in reducing fear into something so ridiculous that you can laugh at it, thus taking the power out of that fear”. Louganis, who is currently th mentor of the American diving team, has seen it all – tormented childhood, being diagnosed with HIV months before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a head injury from which he recovered in half an hour to emerge as a champion.
In Kolkata last weekend, Louganis spoke with Indulge about the drive in him that helped him to conquer fear. Excerpts:
How do you motivate the American team?
Peak performance is meditation in motion. You can never duplicate success. It’s like an incredible performance, a piece of art, which cannot be reproduced exactly the same way. I encourage them to be open to any situation and focus on the board, water, coach, and themselves. Perfection often leads to procrastination and can paralyse you. The take off might be bad and it’s not always a perfect dive that will win you a medal, but it depends on what success you make out of that dive.
Who among the current crop of divers are most promising?
There are a whole lot of Chinese divers, they are all so talented. In the US there’s David Boudia. Another upcoming diver is Jordan Windle. My coach Dr Ron O’Brien’s son Tim was coaching him, he’s adopted from Cambodia and he reminds me a lot about myself.
You have also acted in several films and plays. Have you ever thought of directing one?
I am writing a musical based on my life called Hero. Acting has to a great extent helped me in perfecting the art of diving.
How do you keep yourself fit?
Yoga is a big part of my life. I also do cross fit. I am going to get a new hip this year on December 31 after a hip replacement surgery and looking forward to do a lot of things I used to do after that.
Who have been your athletic heroes?
Edwin Corley Moses, I admire his dominance and swimmer Nancy Hogshead Makar for all her splendid work beyond swimming. It’s not necessarily the athletic achievement that attracts me but it’s all about the people they become.
In India the LGBTQ community is still far from getting equal treatment in society. As one of the champions of this movement in the US what's your advice?
There are still countries where things are problematic, but I think we are moving in the right direction. I am a part of the LGBTQ+ community, but I only know a lot about the ‘G’ in the community and I had to learn about the ‘L’, ‘B’, ‘T’, ‘Q’ and ‘plus’. I had the good fortune of doing a play in Chicago with transgender artiste Alexandra Billings and it was such an incredible education. Be open and listen and be respectful before forming opinions.
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Having conquered almost all fears, are you still afraid of anything?
I think I am wired differently. I did trapeze for about a year and a half and I never realised it’s risky without the net, I did black diamond runs while skiing and there were trees, rocks and risks at every step but it never dawned on me until after the fact (laughs).
How would you like to be remembered?
People put labels on me for my diving excellence or activism but I just don’t see myself in those roles. I just try to speak my truth, it’s wonderful if that’s empowering to someone else.
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On a reminiscent note
* After they stitched my head up (referring to the 1988 accident he had in seoul Olympics) my coach assured me that he was there hundred per cent behind me even if I walked away. But I told him that we worked too long and hard to not give up without fight and we took a walk in the hallway and he said, if a hockey player can be back on the ice after 40 stitches, I just had five. I did not get the time to get over the incident. I had to box it up put it up on a shelf like it never happened. My coach said, “Just do it ... you’ve been doing these thousands of time and succeeded”. So, I just did it.
** HIV was indeed a death sentence for me (six months prior to the 1988 Olympics) but the doctors advised me to continue training. I was determined to make it to the Olympics rather than sit back and ruminate about living with HIV. I was also going through an extremely abusive relationship with my partner and around that time, my father, too, was diagnosed with cancer. The pool became my sanctuary, where HIV didn’t exist. It taught me coping skills, keeping things in perspective and to achieve my goal. When you’re at the pinnacle of sports or any other field, it takes your focus and energy. I was able to put my energy into something positive rather than feeling sorry for myself.
@sharmidas
sharmishtha.g@newindianexpress.com