[6] For the next few years, he regularly competed and performed at various places including nursing homes and the local naval base.

[9] At 16, Louganis took part in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where he placed second in the tower event, behind Italian sport legend Klaus Dibiasi.

Two years later, with Dibiasi retired, Louganis won his first world title in the same event with the help of coach Ron O'Brien of the Mission Viejo Nadadores.

Louganis was a favorite for two golds in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but an American boycott of the games prevented him from participating.

[10] Louganis won two titles at the world championships in 1982, where he became the first diver in a major international meeting to get a perfect score of 10 from all seven judges.

[7] At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, with record scores and leads over his opponents, Louganis won gold medals in both the springboard and tower diving events.

[13] John Ward, chief of HIV-AIDS surveillance at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that the incident posed no risk to others because any blood was highly diluted by the pool water and "chlorine kills HIV".

[16] In 2016, Louganis was pictured on boxes of Wheaties cereal, where prominent American athletes are famously featured, as part of a special "Legends" series that also included 1980s Olympians Janet Evans and Edwin Moses.

[6][19] Louganis had been a theater major in college, and in the late 1980s and 1990s, he appeared in a number of movies, including Touch Me in 1997.

In September 2000, Louganis appeared on Hollywood Squares as a member of famous Olympic gold medalists "Dream Team."

In the book, Louganis detailed a relationship of domestic abuse and rape as well as teenage depression, and how he began smoking and drinking at a young age.

[2] His dogs have included Dr. Schivago; Captain Woof Blitzer; Nipper and son, Dobby, both champion Jack Russell terriers; Gryff (Gryffindor), a border collie; and Hedwig, a Hungarian Pumi.

He has worked frequently with the Human Rights Campaign to defend the civil liberties of the LGBT community and people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

"[38] Louganis is on the board of directors to the USA-based chapter of the charitable foundation of Princess Charlene of Monaco.

"Instead of holding on to them, I'm aiming to share my piece of Olympic history with collectors; together, we can help the Damien Center and its community to grow and thrive.

[13] When Louganis turned 33, in 1993, he agreed to gather friends and family for a birthday party, but one that he envisioned as a final goodbye, as he was in failing health and thought he would soon die of AIDS.

[6] In June 2013, Louganis announced, in People magazine, his engagement to his partner, paralegal Johnny Chaillot.