Olympic Diving Legend Greg Louganis Forced to Sell Medals for $437K Before Moving to Panama After Battling 'Severe Depression' — 'I Needed the Money'
Olympian Greg Louganis has been forced to sell his gold medals.
Sept. 2 2025, Published 7:03 p.m. ET
Olympic great Greg Louganis has revealed he has been forced to sell several of his prized gold medals after running out of money, RadarOnline.com can report.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist, who is often mentioned as one of the greatest American divers, abandoned his California home to live in Panama, admitted to suffering "severe" depression last year and hinted he thought about suicide.
Louganis admitted he needed the money.
Louganis first concerned fans during the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea, when the defending Olympic champ slammed his head on the springboard in the preliminary round while performing a dive.
Despite suffering a concussion in the hard hit, Louganis took home the gold medal in both 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform.
Now 65, he admitted on Facebook that he decided to sell his home and auction three of his medals because he "needed the money."
"I am no longer who I used to think I was," he wrote in a personally revealing note. "Not even close to 'What' other people or 'Who' other people think I am.
He also sold his home in California and moved to Panama
He then addressed the sale of his medals, explaining: "I told the truth; I needed the money. While many people may have built businesses and sold them for a profit, I had my medals, which I am grateful for.
"If I had proper management, I might not have been in that position, but what is done is done; live and learn."
Louganis sold two gold medals and one silver in an auction that yielded surprising returns. After an initial estimate of $80,000, the medals actually ended up selling for a combined $437,000."
He has spent his post Olympic days as a teacher, coach and analyst.
Later, in an Instagram live, he confessed that he had been struggling with his mental health while at the Paris Olympics last year, and felt alone and isolated.
"I remember last year I was in Paris, for the Olympics, I didn't want to be here. Not that I didn't want to be in Paris, I didn't want to be on this earth. I mean it was really, really severe, bad depression. I just wanted somebody to take me out," he explained.
"But now I am realizing that I have things to offer. So what that is and what that looks like, I haven't figured it out and I think that is what this is kind of about. Recalibration and figuring out what is next."
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He took home four gold medals over three Olympic games
He continued: "I'm not who I was when I was 16, I'm not who I was when I was 24. I was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1988 and I was prepared to die. We're still here and I'm really embracing that.
"I'm learning I need to take charge of my own life. Everybody is healing from something. I was prepared to die, I didn't expect to see 30."
Louganis competed in three Olympic Summer Games, including Montreal in 1976, Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988. He skipped the 1980 games held in Moscow as part of a U.S. boycott.
After hanging up his Speedo, he turned to acting, motivational speaking and was an Olympic analyst for networks. He also came out as gay in 1994 and revealed the following year that he had been living with HIV since 1988.
