Zurück aufs Brett: Greg Louganis (2014)

Zurück aufs Brett: Greg Louganis: Directed by Cheryl Furjanic. With David Boudia, Jimmy Carter, Sergei Chalibashvili, Mary Ellen Clark. Feature-length documentary about the greatest diver of all time. Four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis has faced more than his share of challenges. In 2011, he is far from the public eye and struggling to pay his mortgage. Now, the openly gay, HIV+ world-class athlete returns to diving to mentor the USA Olympic hopefuls. This may be his best chance to regain the notoriety — and financial stability — he enjoyed at the height of his career.

“Saw this at Doc NYC and do not remember the last time I was so enthralled by a documentary. The film follows the life story of perhaps one of the greatest Olympic athletes and definitely one of the greatest Olympic divers of all time: Greg Louganis.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film reveals Louganisu0026#39; life from early childhood, where he was just getting into the sport, and struggling with being gay in a homophobic sport and world — and follows him on his life journey to becoming one of the most successful athletes of all time. That journey was not without hardship, and the film touches upon a side of the story that would have gone otherwise undocumented by history — what happens after the fame. Greg himself reveals to us how, despite being a huge Olympic star, his emotional and financial life was crumbling, and he felt rejected by the diving community itself. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnother important thing about this documentary is that it demonstrates the power of documentary filmmaking to create change. At one point in the film, Greg laments that he never got a Wheaties box with him featured on the cover, despite many other equally and less successful athletes receiving that honor. Because of this film, a petition was started, and Greg finally got that Wheaties box.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGreg Louganisu0026#39; story is a truly gripping story and Cheryl Furjanic does a phenomenal job of capturing Gregu0026#39;s journey from start to finish. Youu0026#39;ll laugh, smile, and cry watching this story thatu0026#39;s gone largely untold, but needs to be heard. Do NOT miss this one! You will not be disappointed.”