Greg Louganis is an American Olympic diver and author who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games on both the springboard and platform. He is the only male and the second diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games. In 1984, he received the James E. Sullivan Award from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) as the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.

“I almost want to thank all the bullies in my life: the ones who called me “n*gger,” “retard,” “sissy boy,” and “f*ggot”; those who threatened to throw punches at me and took my lunch money at the bus stop; those who actually threw punches at me and rubbed my face in asphalt; my dad, who whipped me with his belt until I did a dive I was too scared to do in my regular practice; the coaches who belittled me and intimidated me into pushing myself beyond what I thought I was capable of; and the man who r*ped me at knifepoint, whom I then stayed with for another six years. They all helped shape me, and without those experiences I could not be the person I am today. I had to learn to “forgive” myself and then find it in my heart to “forgive” them and even bless the light in them, no matter how dim that light was.”



http://bullyinglte.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/an-olympic-moment-greg-louganis-and-bullying/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Louganis

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