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A former Olympic gold medallist has decided to leave the United States behind for new horizons, opting to sell their prized possessions and property, including their gold medals and California home, to fund a move to Central America.
The legendary Olympian, who won back-to-back double gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul summer Olympics, admitted they “needed the money” that selling the lucrative medals would provide.
Having put the medals up for auction back in July, the Team USA diver was able to sell the highly coveted items for a healthy sum. The gold medal won on home soil in 1984 was bought for a substantial $199,301, while the winning medal they picked up in Seoul four years later was purchased for $201,314.
For many onlookers, it was hardly surprising to see the medals gained by the iconic US diver Greg Louganis, often cited as the greatest in American history for his exploits on the 3m springboard and 10m platform, go for such a lucrative amount. Olympic history is no doubt attached to them as the first man “to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games”, as per Team USA’s website. His first Olympic success, a silver medal achieved in 1976 at Montreal aged 16, was also put up for sale and went for a reported $30,250.
Announcing the news on Facebook to move to Panama, Louganis, a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and speaker on topics such as HIV/AIDS, mental health, environmental issues, climate change, and animals, amongst others, as stated on his official website, explained his decision to leave the US in search of something new.
