Olympic Diving Legend Greg Louganis to Auction Off Memorabilia to Benefit Children & the LGBTQ+ Community

Nov 19, 2022 | Business

 Greg Louganis, who dominated world diving competitions in the 1980s, winning double gold medals in back-to-back Olympic Games, is auctioning off Olympics memorabilia and other historical artifacts to raise funds for charity and help finance the next chapter of his life: a focus on health and wellness, social justice and inclusion.

More than 50 items are available with starting bids ranging from $35 for a worn and autographed 2028 LA28 Summer Olympics hat to $3,000 for his mother’s scrapbook featuring 1976 media coverage not indexed online. The auction, which opened November 11, closes at 6 pm ET on December 4, 2022. During the auction period, collectors have the option to buy an item at a higher set price if they want to take something off the market. In addition, collectors can make offers on three Olympic medals available via private sale.

A driving force behind the auction is the memory of his adoptive mother, Frances Louganis. “My mom always taught me, ‘Make everywhere you go better because you were there,’” says the five-time Olympic medalist. “The funds we’ll raise from the auction are designed to help people in need and those who are fighting for justice.”

Like many professional athletes and celebrities, Louganis has had the opportunity to work with private auction houses to sell his personal effects. But that option doesn’t work for the 62-year-old champion, who believes that personal resilience requires a DIY approach and a commitment to life-long learning and innovation. As such, he has hired a team to create a bespoke e-commerce experience on his own website.

“Each item in the auction has a story behind it,” says Louganis, who plans to produce a personalized video message for each purchaser. “I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with people taking the time to support my personal journey and the causes this project is supporting.”

Proceeds from the auction will benefit two non-profits: Children’s Rights, a national organization holding governments accountable for protecting children and keeping families together; and The Damien Center, Indiana’s largest and oldest AIDS service organization.

Louganis has close ties with both groups. In October, Children’s Rights granted him its Voice for Justice award. For World AIDS Day on December 1, he will join The Damien Center event in Indianapolis, where he competed as an athlete and launched his dance career with Dance Kaleidoscope.

“Greg Louganis is a trail blazer and champion for social justice and the rights of children,” says Darlene Larsen, chief development officer at Children’s Rights. “We are honored to be designated as one of the charitable recipients of the proceeds from this auction.”

In addition, Louganis will use a portion of the proceeds to finance the launch of two other organizations: the GEL Dogjo, a health-and-wellness center for humans and dogs; and the Frances Louganis Foundation, which will support Olympic athletes transitioning to life after the games while also supporting a variety of causes: LGBTQ+, foster care and adoption, mental health and brain injury/concussion.

The auction provides an exclusive opportunity for a wide range of audiences – from sports fans and art collectors to human rights advocates and American history buffs – to purchase items representing not only Louganis’s athletic success but also his dance and acting careers, as well as his challenges as a gay man with HIV. Indeed, while Louganis is making many of his personal effects available to the public via the auction, the Smithsonian American History Museum is curating several pieces to preserve his legacy as an elite athlete and LGBTQ+ icon.

Available items include:

Medals and awards:

– 1988 Olympic Gold Medal: Diving, Men’s 10M Platform (private sale)

– 1984 Olympic Gold Medal: Diving, Men’s 3M Springboard (private sale)

– 1976 Olympic Silver Medal: Diving, Men’s 10M Platform (private sale)

– 1984 Gold Medalist Collection with Scorecard

– USA Diving Rings of Honor Award

Fine art photography by renown photographers and photo journalists:

– Autographed photo: black and white by Herb Ritts

– Autographed photo: black and white by Greg Gorman

– Autographed Photo: black and white by Mark Hanauer

– Autographed Photo: black and white by Burke Uzzle

Pop culture memorabilia:

– Breaking The Surface Movie Bundle

– Greg Louganis Personal Scrapbook 2

– Variety 90th Anniversary American Hero Plaque

– Gay Games – Being Gay Is Okay Bundle

About Greg Louganis

Greg Louganis is known as the GOAT of Diving, but more importantly he is a dog dad and agility trainer who spends his days with his pups, speaking about LGBTQ+ issues, mental health, peak performance and more. Greg is currently developing new content to educate, inform and entertain his legions of existing and new fans. He can be reached through social media @greglouganis or through his website, GregLouganis.com.

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Team USA, Team Toyota’s Erin Jackson Wins First Olympic Gold Medal at Olympic Winter Games

Feb 15, 2022 | Business

BEIJING – WEBWIRE –



At 29 years old, Team Toyota’s Erin Jackson won her first Olympic gold medal, taking first place in the women’s 500m long track speedskating event at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Sunday, February 13, 2022. This win makes her the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in speedskating at the Winter Olympics.


“I think I cried immediately,” Jackson said to TeamUSA.org. “Just a big release of emotion. A lot of shock, a lot of relief and a lot of happiness.”


With a time of 37.04, Jackson’s gold medal performance also marks the first U.S. individual speedskating gold medal since 2010 and the first American woman to win the 500m event since 1994. Coming into the Olympic Winter Games, Jackson was the No. 1 ranked women’s 500m skater in the world and won four of the eight world cups this competition season.


For additional bio information and image assets on this Team Toyota athlete, click here. For all news related to the Winter Games, including additional Team Toyota athletes who are competing, click here.


For up-to-date athlete news, follow #TeamToyota on Instagram (@TeamToyota).


About Toyota


Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships. 


Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.  With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.


Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

International Olympic Committee invites the world to believe in the power of solidarity in new film

Jan 26, 2022 | Business

WEBWIRE –



Highlighting the relationship between athletes and supporters, the emotive film demonstrates what can be achieved when we come together.


The Olympic Games are one of the most powerful symbols for unity in the world. Every two years they bring together athletes from around the world in peaceful competition, with the world watching.


Athletes are in their final preparations for the biggest sporting event of their career, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, which start on 4 February. Celebrating this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today released a new short film highlighting the power of solidarity, which is also reflected in the amended Olympic motto: “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”.


The film, continuing the “Stronger Together” campaign, spotlights the unique relationship between Olympians and their supporters across the world. People watching around the globe mirror the athletes’ movements, demonstrating the impact of this human connection. This display of togetherness and the belief of others power people to believe in themselves; to push through that wall, take that leap – to make the unbelievable happen. Demonstrating that through every rise, every fall, every victory, we’re in it together.


“Every rise, every fall, every victory – we’re in it together” is part of the IOC’s “Stronger Together” campaign, which celebrates the power that believing in each other has to bring people together. It joins a story voiced by three-time Olympic medallist Lindsey Vonn, and amplifies the IOC’s belief in solidarity and the power of sport and the Olympics to unite people and communities across the globe. The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 take place between 4 and 20 February.


The film is directed by Salomon Ligthelm – a self-taught filmmaker who has won awards for his work across the world – and produced for the IOC in collaboration with Uncommon Creative Studio.


Watch the film now at Olympics.com.


The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.4 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world


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VIDEO: Every rise, every fall, every victory – we’re in it together

Olympic Sailors KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar take PM Modi’s ‘Meet the Champions’ campaign to Tamil Nadu, say “hope we inspired the next Olympic medalist”

Jan 7, 2022 | Business


Olympic Sailors KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar on Thursday, kicked off PM Modi’s school visit campaign in the Southern part of India and visited Tamil Nadu’s Vivekananda Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School.



Taking the Hm Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s unique school visit campaign ahead, the Asian Championships Gold Medallists Varun and Gana interacted with children on the importance of having a balanced and nutritious diet to *build strong immunity and muscles that are really important in a life of an athlete*


They also got the students to share their sports resolution for the year 2022 with the audience so they got to hear the experience of upcoming athletes as well.



Besides students for the host school, student representatives of 75 schools from 3 districts of Tamil Nadu also attended the special event and got a unique opportunity to meet the local athletes.


During the visit, both Varun and Gana interacted with the students in Tamil and English, so as they understood the importance of having a ‘Santulit Aahaar’ (Balanced Diet), Fitness and also promoted the sport of Badminton, which is quite popular in Southern region of the country.


The duo also showed the students a few basic muscle strengthening exercises which are important to have as a sailor and said ” For sailing, you need to have a balance between flexibility and strength otherwise the wind might suddenly change and throw you off your boats. So every morning we start our day with either running or cycling to build on our flexibility and then in the evening we to weight training, so we can build upon our strength.”



Lauding the idea of Hon’ble PM of asking Olympians and Paralympians to visit schools across India and interact with students, Varun and Gana said, ” We are extremely excited to be part of the Meet the Champions Movement initiated by our honourable Prime Minister. It was great to be addressing 75 schools and interacting with 150+ children of various districts. Hopefully, we inspired them and they realise the importance of eating healthy and staying fit. We hope we have a next Olympic medallist from the children and we inspired them to take up sports.”


The unique initiative is part of the government’s ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ that was kicked off by Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra in December 2021 and then taken ahead by Olympic Bronze medalist Bajrang Punia in the Northern region of India.


‘Meet the Champions’ initiative is a unique school visit campaign that, is jointly being organized by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. During their visit, the Olympians share their own experiences, life lessons, tips on how to eat right and also give an overall inspirational boost to school children.


While the sailors met and guided the school going students to keep the momentum of the ‘Meet the Champions’ initiative going, the school management made sure that the school students followed strict COVID appropriate protocols and wore masks at all times during the Olympian’s short visit.


They also made sure that the students sat at least 2 meters away from each other and thus avoided physical contact from kids of other students.




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Olympic Movement mourns the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Dec 28, 2021 | Business



IOC President Thomas Bach said: “I got to know Desmond Tutu in 1996 as a passionate lover of the Olympic Games and sport. He always emphasised the power of sport to bring people together. In all the meetings I had with him, he always appreciated the great contribution of the Olympic Games to peace and understanding. It was his fervent wish that he could see the Olympic Games being celebrated in his beloved South Africa.”


Tutu was one of the leaders of the candidature of Cape Town for the 2004 Olympic Games. He attended numerous editions of the Olympic Games and, as a lover of sport, many sports events in South Africa and across the world. In 2002, he represented the African continent as one of the bearers of the Olympic flag in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Salt Lake City 2002. He also took part in the flame-lighting ceremony for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 in Ancient Olympia.


Bach added: “Desmond Tutu was a firm believer in the Olympic values and a man full of humanity and humility, and had a wonderful sense of humour, which made every conversation with him not only inspiring, but also pleasant and unforgettable.”


The IOC and the entire Olympic Movement will always honour his memory. Our thoughts are with his wife, his family and his many friends around the globe.