Indianapolis - It was a day that a Carmel teen won't soon forget after a three-story jump with the legendary Greg Louganis. Louganis is the undisputed all-time diving great.
Six days a week, you can see some of the nation's top divers practicing at the IUPUI Natatorium. It's a rigourous routine that got a boost with a visit from Greg Louganis.
"He is the American Idol of diving," said Mary Beth Dunnichay, 2008 Beijing Olympian.
Louganis is mentoring each athlete at the USA Diving National Training Center and sharing how he became a champion.
"Everybody says, 'Did you visualize you yourself winning a gold medal at the Olympics?' Absolutely not!" said Louganis.
"The important thing is and I stress to them is do your homework. When you get there you want to feel prepared but then when you get there and you feel prepared, you don't want to over think it. A lot of times it's paralysis analysis," said Louganis.
Louganis' philosophy lead to back to back golds in springboard and platform in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic games where his mental toughness became the headline.
"He came back from hitting his head on the board and won the Olympic gold medal. He obviously has some really good mental techniques that he uses and that is something that I am definitely interested in," said Thomas Finchum, 2008 Beijing Olympian.
Louganis suited up to show at 51 he can still work the tower, performing a flying front one and a half pike with 14-year-old Steele Johnson from Carmel.
"Greg and I were like the only two people in the world that have ever done that dive because it is really risky because what you had to do you is jump off the tower, and you have to get completely vertical before you can pike into the dive. If you don't do that it's a failed dive and you get no scores," said Steele.
It's even harder when synchronized, but they did it twice.
"When I was little and just started diving I never thought I was going to meet him," said Steele. "I was like this is real, he's here; I'm diving with the big kids now."
It's a confidence boost Louganis is happy to provide.
"I'm enjoying the process with the kids," he said. "I want to see my records broken."
Louganis says he enjoyed his 20-year break from the water, but he stayed in shape. Now he's back. Just last year he started a youth diving team in southern California.
