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Olympic legend Greg Louganis reveals how he found his birth father after decades of feeling abandoned

This is a beautiful story and I’m so happy for Greg Louganis who I think the world of. The Olympic legend is sharing with the world the story of getting to know his biological father.

“I needed to know I wasn’t a throw-away child,” Louganis — who is the subject of a new documentary streaming on the People/Entertainment Weekly Network and is featured in the current issue of PEOPLE — says of being adopted and being filled with questions about his birth parents.

Louganis’s birth parents met in Hawaii, but his biological mother moved to San Diego while pregnant and Louganis entered the foster care system at birth. At 9 months, he was adopted by Southern California-based Frances and Peter Louganis, who were unable to have biological children.

“I’d always felt like if my natural parents couldn’t love me, then nobody could. I internalized that and went through a horrible rebellion,” Greg tells People Magazine. “I was out of control, and I wouldn’t let anyone in.”

It wasn’t until 1984 that Greg met his biological father during an appearance in Hawaii.

“Like me, he’s a man of few words. But he told me he’d wanted to raise me,” he said.

Greg continued to meet with Lutu, who appeared whenever Louganis visited Hawaii: “He never asked for anything. He’s a very gentle and shy man. He just wanted to know if I was okay and that I was happy. That helped ease the question of whether I was loved,” he says.

FILE UNDER: Families

Comments

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2 Remarks

  1. That made me smile. And cry. So happy for you Greg.

  2. I must give kudos to Greg Louganis because he’s the greatest swimmer of all time. He influenced so many people and changed sports for every.

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