Out Olympic legend to visit Philly

With the Summer Olympics about to be in full swing, Parx Casino is celebrating by inviting Olympic icons and gold medalists Greg Louganis, Bruce Jenner and Kerri Strug to meet their adoring fans, answer questions and sign memorabilia.

Of course we’ll be in line to meet Louganis, the legendary Olympic diver and author known as much for bringing home Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988 as he is for coming out and disclosing his HIV-positive status in the mid-1990s.

Louganis, 52, also is a best-selling author, most notably for his autobiography “Breaking the Surface,” and an actor, appearing in TV shows (“Portlandia”) and movies (“Watercolors”). If that weren’t enough, he keeps his competitive spirit going by training dogs for agility competitions.

Louganis talked about the Olympics and what comes with them — and after — with PGN.

PGN: How does it feel, after more than 20 years that you competed, that you are considered the best Olympic diver of all time? GL: It’s so interesting because, when I was diving, I wanted the diving to speak for itself so I didn’t have to speak for my diving. That was the goal. I’m not real boastful and I’m not one to toot my own horn. It’s amazing that the records still stand and I’m still looked at as a really great diver, I guess. I don’t know. It’s weird, but it’s flattering.

PGN: What do the Olympics provide for fans that professional sports don’t? GL: The Olympics happen every four years. There’s a lot that goes into it. It’s like the whole world comes together. You have all these different varied sports that are coming to this one place. It’s an incredible media circus surrounding the event. Emotions are high. There are a lot of stories. People work a lifetime to get to the games. You see a lot of people’s lives and dreams unfold right in front of you.

PGN: Do you think things have gotten better for gay and lesbians in the Olympics since you were a competitor? GL: I’m not sure because I’m not competing now. It seems to have gotten better. The only thing I can go on is I coached for a very short time and the reactions from the kids. A reporter asked how do the kids feel about being coached by a gay coach. I never thought about that. So I asked them and they don’t care. It’s kind of a non-issue for a certain generation, at least here in the States. I haven’t been on the international stage for many, many years.

PGN: So you’re no longer coaching? GL: No. What I’m doing is I’m an athlete mentor for USA diving, so I’m working with Olympic hopefuls and their coaches in preparation for London.

PGN: When you participate in an event like the one you’re doing at Parx or a book signing, do you find that the people showing up are as big a fan of your work as an advocate as they are of your work as an athlete? GL: I think that it’ll be interesting to see who does show up and why. I think that more of the people I would imagine who’d come out, because it’s a bit more current, are fans of my book or my advocacy. Basically living my life as an openly gay man with HIV, I think those are more the people who would come and see me.

PGN: Did the disclosure of your HIV status change the public’s perception of the disease at the time and, if so, do you think those perceptions continue to evolve? GL: I really don’t know. For one thing, I don’t read my press. So I don’t know what’s being said about me most of the time. Sometimes people bring things to my attention. I don’t really get caught up in all that.

PGN: Do you think the increased awareness about HIV and AIDS has made younger generations more complacent about it? GL: I think the thing that concerns me most is the complacency, where kids are thinking that HIV is manageable like diabetes or something like that. HIV is preventable. You wouldn’t wish diabetes on someone, and we know how to prevent HIV transmission by being responsible and conducting ourselves in a certain manner. It’s a mixed message. We’ve come a long way as far as treatment and people are living longer, but not everyone tolerates medications. So it’s kind of a crapshoot. Prevention is paramount.

PGN: How common is it for an Olympic athlete to continue with a particular sport after competing? GL: It depends on the individual. It also depends on what their interests are in the sport. Most athletes who compete on a high national level, they make their way back to their sports. It’s an individual thing. I was away from my sport for quite a number of years and I found my way back because I was busy with other things. I took my time.

PGN: In mentoring athletes, what is something you want them to know about the Olympics that they might not expect? GL: The biggest misconception is when agents come around and say Olympic gold medals are worth millions of dollars. You examine the history. It’s not the case. You should go into the situation into the Olympic Games with your eyes open. Also, one thing I was warned about in 1976, Pat McCormick came up to me and said, “Watch out for the Olympic blues.” I didn’t know what the heck she was talking about. A short time after the Olympic games, I knew. The Olympics is a super-high high. After that comes some pretty low lows. That’s what she was talking about. A lot of young athletes go through down cycles, maybe just momentarily. You’re way up high and you come down. That’s just part of life.

PGN: And how did you deal with it? GL: I was only 16 at my first Olympics [in 1976] and I was a silver medalist — I actually felt like a failure. I didn’t go there to take second. My only purpose for being on this earth was to prevent Klaus DiBiase from breaking my coach’s record. So I failed in what my mission was. I suffered from depression. I tried to commit suicide. It was a pretty low low. I wasn’t sure I was going to come back. But every time that I quit diving, I always came back to it and came back stronger, with a stronger conviction and passion for it.

PGN: How did you get into dog training? GL: Quite by accident. I had a Great Dane when I was diving. But I started traveling so much I couldn’t take care of her the way I wanted to. So I placed her with a family. I vowed to get another Great Dane after I retired from diving. I went and saw this litter and there was one puppy left. The woman said he was a show-marked harlequin and he had to be shown. That was one of the conditions of me getting him. So I learned about confirmation — it’s like a beauty contest. It was fine but I got kind of bored with that, so I ventured into obedience. Then when I was doing obedience training I got another dog, a Jack Russell terrier. I was preparing her for obedience trials and happened on to this field with all this jump equipment: tunnels, teeter a-frames and poles, and she took to it. She was incredible. That’s how we got into dog agility. I just love observing behavior. That’s how I trained. I found some purely positive trainers. I like that approach: Reward the good behavior, ignore the bad. The behavior that’s rewarded is more apt to be repeated.

PGN: Do you see any parallels between training dogs and athletes? GL: Yes. Behavior is behavior. Just as with kids, people and dogs, what you’re trying to do is shape behaviors and modify them to what works and what’s going to be successful.