“We look at a wide array of what they accomplished on the field of play and what they do in their communities,” he added.

Jenna Lynch, the senior associate marketing manager for Wheaties, added, “We hear from fans all the time about who should be on the Wheaties box.”

Louganis has said that homophobia was most likely the reason that Wheaties did not put him on its box after the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. There were rumors that he was gay during his Olympic career, but he did not come out publicly until the Gay Games in 1994. In his autobiography the next year, he revealed that he had tested positive for H.I.V. before the 1988 Summer Games. Out of fear, Louganis did not tell the doctor about his condition after he bloodied his head on the springboard during the Games.

Louganis said that he had no hard feelings about General Mills from the 1980s and praised its diversity program and its support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“The times have changed so drastically and so fast,” he said during a telephone conversation last week. “When I came out to my mom, she feared I’d always be a second-class citizen and never have a chance to be married. But Johnny and I are married, and we’re making a life together.” Louganis married Johnny Chaillot in 2013.

Louganis said he did not mind that his box would be one of a series with other Olympians.

“Edwin and I were in the 1976 Olympics together,” he said. “He was my hero. God, he was my inspiration to get trust funds put in place for the athletes coming behind me.” With pride in his voice, he added, “I watched Janet grow up at Mission Viejo.”

Getting on the Wheaties box can seem as much an achievement as the athletic prowess that leads to it.