In a video released Monday to mark
World AIDS Day, Olympian Greg Louganis says that he dreams of “zero
new infections.”
“My dream is zero discrimination,
zero new infections and zero AIDS-related deaths,” Louganis says in
the 60-second video.
Louganis, who won gold medals at the
1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, came out at the Gay Games held in New
York in 1994. He's said in previous interviews that he does not know
when he contracted HIV but that he was diagnosed “about 6 months
prior to the 1988 [Seoul] Olympic games.”
“I have been living with HIV for over
26 years,” Louganis says in the video. “Thanks to early
treatment, HIV has not affected my zest for life, or my passion for
sports.”
“The goal for all of us is to test
early, know your status, and get treatment as soon as possible,” he
adds. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Louganis recorded the video in support
of the Switzerland-based International Labour Organization, which
works to end HIV-related discrimination in the workplace.