![[Americana.]](/_next/image.jpg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg2.bonhams.com%2Fimage%3Fsrc%3DImages%252Flive%252F2006-09%252F22%252F7332891-4-1.JPG%26width%3D650&w=2400&q=75)
Katie Allen
Associate Specialist
This auction has ended. View lot details
You may also be interested in
Lot 4
A GREG LOUGANIS 1976 OLYMPIC SILVER MEDAL, MEN'S TEN-METER PLATFORM. XXIe Olympiad Montreal 1976 on obverse in field; reverse uninscribed.
14 September 2023, 12:00 PDT
Los AngelesUS$200,000 - US$300,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
A GREG LOUGANIS 1976 OLYMPIC SILVER MEDAL, MEN'S TEN-METER PLATFORM.
XXIe Olympiad Montreal 1976 on obverse in field; reverse uninscribed.
Inscribed "NATATION" on edge at 6 o'clock.
With light contact marks on obverse and reverse, otherwise as issued. With original wooden box as issued and external case.
Diameter 60mm.
In 1976 as a 16-year-old kid, Louganis made the Men's Olympic Diving Team, coming in first in the ten-meter platform. In his memoir, he writes: "All the hype put more pressure on me. The fact was I was sixteen years old, I'd never been to an Olympics before, and here I was expected to win one gold, if not two. Yes, I could dive well, and maybe I could win a gold, but I was still young and inconsistent. I was capable of scoring 10s but I was just as capable of scoring 2s ... I, of course, like always was convinced that if I didn't win that medal, I would be a complete failure" (p 73).
In the preliminary round in springboard, Louganis barely made the cut, placing 6 out of 8. Then he didn't sleep the night before the final competition, placing 6th in the final. He writes, "I ... was so embarrassed that I went straight to the lockers without saying a word to my parents, who were waiting for me by the side of the pool. I didn't want to see them. I went back to the Olympic Village in shame and went to bed. I didn't want to talk to anyone or see anyone."
The prelims for the ten-meter were even worse for Greg. He developed an excruciating toothache, which made it feel like his head was exploding with each dive. Luckily, he was able to find a dentist before the finals to relieve some of the pressure.
Louganis's main competition in the ten-meter was Italian diver Klaus Dibiasi, the 28-year-old "Blond Angel" who had attended his first Olympics at 17. Louganis beat Dibiasi in the prelims, and in the finals the two men went dive-for-dive, until a slight bobble on his 9th dive put Louganis out of the running for gold. Greg was disappointed with his silver medal, however, until the awards ceremony when Klaus came over to Greg and said, "Next time, Moscow 1980, I see you win two gold medals." Louganis writes, "That felt wonderful. It was like the passing of the torch from one of the greatest divers in the world" (p 80).
Inscribed "NATATION" on edge at 6 o'clock.
With light contact marks on obverse and reverse, otherwise as issued. With original wooden box as issued and external case.
Diameter 60mm.
In 1976 as a 16-year-old kid, Louganis made the Men's Olympic Diving Team, coming in first in the ten-meter platform. In his memoir, he writes: "All the hype put more pressure on me. The fact was I was sixteen years old, I'd never been to an Olympics before, and here I was expected to win one gold, if not two. Yes, I could dive well, and maybe I could win a gold, but I was still young and inconsistent. I was capable of scoring 10s but I was just as capable of scoring 2s ... I, of course, like always was convinced that if I didn't win that medal, I would be a complete failure" (p 73).
In the preliminary round in springboard, Louganis barely made the cut, placing 6 out of 8. Then he didn't sleep the night before the final competition, placing 6th in the final. He writes, "I ... was so embarrassed that I went straight to the lockers without saying a word to my parents, who were waiting for me by the side of the pool. I didn't want to see them. I went back to the Olympic Village in shame and went to bed. I didn't want to talk to anyone or see anyone."
The prelims for the ten-meter were even worse for Greg. He developed an excruciating toothache, which made it feel like his head was exploding with each dive. Luckily, he was able to find a dentist before the finals to relieve some of the pressure.
Louganis's main competition in the ten-meter was Italian diver Klaus Dibiasi, the 28-year-old "Blond Angel" who had attended his first Olympics at 17. Louganis beat Dibiasi in the prelims, and in the finals the two men went dive-for-dive, until a slight bobble on his 9th dive put Louganis out of the running for gold. Greg was disappointed with his silver medal, however, until the awards ceremony when Klaus came over to Greg and said, "Next time, Moscow 1980, I see you win two gold medals." Louganis writes, "That felt wonderful. It was like the passing of the torch from one of the greatest divers in the world" (p 80).