Olympic legend Greg Louganis is back in the United States after taking some drastic measures to leave the country.
Louganis, 66, is currently staying with a friend in Santa Fe, New Mexico, since returning from Panama, where he moved in August 2025 after auctioning off three of his Olympic medals to help finance the life pivot.
“The language thing was, for me, the biggest block,” Louganis explained in a video posted via Instagram on Monday, March 16. “Energetically it just wasn’t quite a fit. So I came back to the U.S. not knowing what the hell I’m doing.”
He continued, “I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I don’t know if I’m staying. I’m looking into a lot of different things.”
Louganis, who also sold his California home last year before leaving for Panama, admitted he’s currently feeling money stress.
“My biggest concern is food source and affordability,” he said. “So much of that is so broken in the U.S. It’s challenging. I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Though a permanent move to Panama wasn’t in the cards, Louganis noted that he still found plenty to appreciate about the country.
“It was incredible, it really was,” he said. “I met some really, really wonderful people there. It was great. Love, love, love the hiking, being in nature, being near the howler monkeys, capybaras. It was beautiful in that way.”
Looking ahead, Louganis explained he’s currently in the process of shedding some of the personality traits that were no longer suiting him.
“I’m going through quite a lot. It’s interesting because I was in this holding pattern of my identity being a seeker,” he said. “I wanted to address this because I think it’s really important. I think a lot of us get stuck. I was going to this workshop and that workshop, and this retreat and that retreat.”
He added, “All the good teachers tell you that the answers are inside you. You just have to be quiet to get the answers.”
Louganis said he “needed the money” when he auctioned off three of his Olympic medals last year.
“If I had proper management, I might not have been in that position,” he argued. “But what is done is done; live and learn.”
Louganis said he was partially inspired to move to Panama after he had multiple friends lose their homes in the devastating Southern California wildfires last year.
“I know I am choosing to do this, but their resilience is an inspiration for me to start anew, with an open heart and an open door,” he said. “Opening up to possibilities. I realized I often close myself off, shut myself down, and play small for the comfort of others.”
Louganis added, “I don’t think I have realized or given myself credit for what I might be able to accomplish.”
