Olympic diving great Greg Louganis said he sold three of his medals and his home to move to Panama, joining an exodus of celebrities from the U.S.
Personalities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell have cited President Donald Trump as a reason for their emigration. Jimmy Kimmel recently revealed he had become an Italian citizen because of the political climate.
But Louganis, who won four gold medals and a silver from 1976 to 1988, had a more philosophical message than a political one.
“So, as life moves forward, what are you prepared to leave behind?” Louganis wrote on Facebook Friday. “I am 65 years old, and I am asking just that. I am no longer who I used to think I was. Not even close to ‘What’ other people or ‘Who’ other people think I am.”
After throwing shade at his business managers and praise at his former coach, Ron O’Brien, Louganis added:
“Now I get to discover who is Greg Louganis? Without the distraction and noise from outside. At least this is my goal, and hey, I may not find that. I think I may find it at times, in moments, my goal is to live it! Discover, allow, and nurture that human spirit through the experiences of life. To be joyful in the moments, embrace the grief, the anger, and the laughter, and embrace it all, feel it all in this experience we call our lives.”
He also said he was inspired by the resilience of close friends who lost everything in recent California fires and were able to start anew.
Louganis publicly came out as gay in 1994, becoming one of the few prominent athletes to make the disclosure at the time, and announced he was HIV-positive in 1995.
Louganis, who also has been a gay-rights advocate, announced in 2021 that he was ending his approximately 8-year marriage to Johnny Chaillot.
