What Price Is Freedom? Greg Louganis Auctions Medals For Over $430K
Three Olympic medals from diving great Greg Louganis sold for a combined $430,865 in RR Auction’s Summer 2025 Olympic sale. His 10-metre platform gold from Seoul 1988 realised $201,314, the 3-metre springboard gold from Los Angeles 1984 brought $199,301, and his Montreal 1976 10-metre platform silver made $30,250.
Why he matters in sport and culture.
Louganis changed the conversation around athletes and identity. In June 1994, he publicly acknowledged he was gay during a recorded message at Gay Games IV in New York. The following year, he confirmed on ABC’s 20/20 that he was living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He also explored both revelations in his 1995 memoir Breaking the Surface. Those choices, made at a time of intense stigma, helped push sport toward honesty and visibility.
The medals were previewed in mid-July and drew strong interest before the 17 July close, with the 1988 platform gold leading the field. RR Auction later confirmed the prices and total, noting the result “nearly $431,000.”
Ahead of the auction, Louganis said he was ready to let the pieces go and move on. “When people come over they ask where my medals are,” he told collectibles outlet Cllct. “I’m 65 now, and I’ve gotten to the point where I feel like so many of my possessions own me.” He added, “I want them to go someplace where they’ll be appreciated.”
Reporting since the sale has linked the downsizing to a broader life reset, with Louganis selling his home and relocating overseas. He has described the step as necessary and practical.
Louganis missed a likely medal shot in 1980 when the United States boycotted the Moscow Games. The boycott kept many favourites home, and Louganis was one of them.
At DNA, we asked a simple question.
What makes an Olympic medal trade for six figures? Part of it is provenance and narrative. Louganis’ Seoul platform gold capped a comeback week that has become part of Olympic lore, and that story travelled with the metal. The auction records back it up.
This sale is a reminder that sporting history sits in real lives. For the buyer, it is a rare piece of Olympic excellence. For Louganis, it funds the next step and clears space for what comes next.
