Three Americans who collected Olympic gold by the bowlful in their day are being called for the first time to the Wheaties cereal box podium.

Images of diver Greg Louganis, swimmer Janet Evans and hurdler Edwin Moses will adorn the "Breakfast of Champions," along with details about their world-best accomplishments, Twin Cities-based General Mills announced Monday.

The boxes for the three, in what the foodmaker is calling its Wheaties Legends series, will start appearing in stores in the United States next month.

Evans is a four-time Olympic gold medalist who broke seven world records as a distance swimmer. Louganis also is a four-time gold medalist. Moses won two gold medals and set a world record for the 400-meter hurdles in 1976. He also holds the world record for a decadelong winning streak of 122 races.

"This is an opportunity for Wheaties to highlight past champions who haven't yet received the honor of being on a Wheaties box for their past athletic achievements," Jenna Lynch, senior associate marketing manager for Wheaties, said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Evans, who burst onto the international swim scene in 1987 at age 15, said, "I think getting the honor now actually means more. I think when you're competing and you're young, you kind of just take it for granted that of course if you win a gold medal you might have the incredible honor of being on a Wheaties box."

For Louganis, the news comes roughly eight months after the HBO documentary about him, "Back on Board: Greg Louganis," inspired by an online petition asking that he be so honored.

"From the moment I hit 'send' on the [Change.org] petition, I knew this was possible," said Julie Sondgerath, an information technology manager in Chicago. A month later, she presented a box packed with petitions to General Mills officials in Golden Valley.

However, Mike Siemienas, manager of brand media relations at General Mills, said the choices were "not about who gets the most votes or who gets petitions."

Louganis said he's not bothered by the Wheaties honor coming so many years after the zenith of his athletic stardom. "This means so much more than it would have back then," he said. "Getting it now means people will see me as a whole person — a flawed person who is gay, HIV-positive, with all the other things I've been through."

What he's been through includes his defining moment as an Olympian in 1988 in Seoul, where he struck his head on the springboard, only to quickly return and make the best dive of the competition. The next day, sporting stitches, he won the gold. However, he also was criticized for not disclosing that he was HIV-positive at the time.

The New York Times contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482