Greg Louganis reads heartbreaking letter to his younger self

Greg Louganis made a heartwarming speech at the Virgin Holidays Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar, last night (October 12).

The Olympic legend, one of the stars of our Awards issue, came on stage to accept the Sport Award for his decades of achievements as an LGBT+ sporting hero.

Instead of a regular speech, Greg decided to read a letter to his 16-year-old self containing things he wish he could have told himself back when he was struggling to accept who he was as a teenager.

He said: “Dear 16-year-old Greg, I know you won’t believe me, but life is going to get better. Young man, you will make lots of mistakes along the way.

“You will learn your dad really is proud of you, and loved you, but didn’t know how to show it.

“You will not get the love you want, but you will learn that people will do the best they can. You’ve been rough on your mum, but you will forgive yourself and she will teach you that she loves you. There’s a man you’ve met who will teach you the meaning of trust and respect. He will stay by your side when you think no one else will.

Greg continued: “You will understand those confusing feelings about yourself. About who you are and who you fall in love with. It’s just who you are that you love a man. You will survive your suicide attempts and something glorious will happen.

“You’ll realise God doesn’t make mistakes. You will learn you weren’t discarded, you were loved by your biological family. I know you can’t imagine living past 30, but you will live well beyond that. Those hurts, bumps and bruises, you’re going to let go of,” added the star.

Read more about this year’s winners in the November issue of Attitude. Buy in print, subscribe or download now.

Watch his speech in full below: