Ron O’Brien, who guided four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis and many more American diving stars in a 34-year coaching career, has died at age 86.
O’Brien’s death was confirmed by USA Diving and by the Mission Viejo Nadadores diving club, where O’Brien formerly coached.
“Ron O’Brien was a towering figure in the world of diving, whose passion, dedication, and unparalleled success inspired generations of athletes and coaches,” USA Diving President Lee Michaud said in a statement. “His remarkable achievements, and the way he shaped the careers of so many champions, are a testament to his extraordinary talent and leadership. Ron’s impact, however, extended far beyond the pool deck, as he embodied the spirit of excellence and integrity in every aspect of his work. Ron was a great coach and a better human being. The diving community has lost a true legend, and his legacy will continue to inspire for years to come. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those whose lives he touched.”
O’Brien, an NCAA champion at Ohio State in 1959, competed at the 1960 Olympic Trials and finished third on the platform and fourth on the springboard. He just missed the two-man Olympic team in each event.
“That bitter disappointment lit a fire in me to become the best diving coach that I could be,” O’Brien said in a 2019 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame speech.
He was on the U.S. Olympic diving team coaching staff for every Games from 1968 through 1996.
In 1976, springboard diver Jennifer Chandler became his first pupil to win an Olympic title.
In 1978, an 18-year-old Louganis began regularly training with O’Brien in Mission Viejo.
“When I first went to him, he was the god of diving,” Louganis said in his 2014 documentary, “Back on Board.” “I worshipped him. Ron is the one who got me. He knew that I was a performer. When I knew that I was in good shape, he’d say, ‘Just keep dancing.’”
At the 1984 Los Angeles Games, Louganis became the first man since 1928 to sweep the platform and springboard golds at one Olympics.
Louganis called his performance in the platform at the 1984 Games — becoming the first man to break the 700-point barrier in the event — the “most shining moment” of his career. He later gifted that gold medal to O’Brien.
By the 1988 Seoul Games, O’Brien was one of a handful of people to whom Louganis had confided that he was HIV positive.
“Honestly, I never thought about HIV,” O’Brien said. “I guess I was just so focused on getting him through, helping him to win his two gold medals. That was my focus. I said, ‘Do you want to continue?’ He said, ‘We’ve worked too long and too hard to not continue.’”
In Louganis’ first event in Seoul, the springboard, he hit his head on the board on his ninth of 11 qualifying dives.
“To reassure me, Ron said, ‘Well, hockey players get hit in the face with a puck and get 50 stitches and then come out and play the rest of the game. You only have four stitches, and you only have to do two dives.’ We both laughed,” Louganis wrote in his 1995 book, “Breaking the Surface.”
Louganis finished qualifying, then won springboard and platform gold for a second consecutive Games. No man has won both events at a single Games since.
“Ron really understood me,” Louganis wrote. “He knew that I needed help with both the technical and the mental aspects of my diving. I wasn’t the kind of diver who did a dive because I wanted to be a daredevil. I had to be physically and mentally prepared to do it. I had to be able to see it in my head. Each new dive had to be a part of my overall goals. If I thought that I needed the dive to do better in competitions, that would give me the motivation to overcome my fear and do the dive. Ron helped me with all of that.”
O’Brien also coached Michele Mitchell, an Olympic platform silver medalist in 1984 and 1988, and Mary Ellen Clark, an Olympic platform bronze medalist in 1992 and 1996.
