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At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, in South Korea, Greg Louganis hit his head on the springboard.
It was during the preliminary rounds while he was attempting a reverse 2½ pike.
It caused a gash to his head, with blood trickling down his head.
At the time, only he and his coach Ron O'Brien knew he was HIV positive.
In 2012 he spoke to Peter Bowes about that moment.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.
Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.
(Photo: Diver Greg Louganis of the US shown hitting his head on the diving board. Credit: Rich Clarkson / Rich Clarkson & Associates)
By BBC World Service4.7
1818 ratings
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, in South Korea, Greg Louganis hit his head on the springboard.
It was during the preliminary rounds while he was attempting a reverse 2½ pike.
It caused a gash to his head, with blood trickling down his head.
At the time, only he and his coach Ron O'Brien knew he was HIV positive.
In 2012 he spoke to Peter Bowes about that moment.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.
Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.
(Photo: Diver Greg Louganis of the US shown hitting his head on the diving board. Credit: Rich Clarkson / Rich Clarkson & Associates)

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