Australian Olympic Athlete Announces He's Gay
Thursday 29th May 2008
Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, who will compete in the Beijing Olympics this summer in the 10 metre platform competition, is a world class athlete. He’s also gay.
Matthew Mitcham will compete in the 10 metre platform competition at the Beijing Games. Image by Maarten.
Mitcham recently came out in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, making him Australia’s only openly gay Olympic athlete.
The 20-year-old diver spoke candidly of the difficulties he faced in both life and sports. The young diver was a star at an early age, but battled severe depression that was partially related to his being gay. As a teenager he had burnt out both mentally and physically, leading to his retirement from diving.
But in less than a year Mitcham realized he had made a huge mistake. He jumped headfirst back in the pool and in life. He’s been incredibly successful, just last week winning gold at the USA Diving Grand Prix in Miami.
Mitcham’s goal is to become just the second openly gay diver to win an Olympic medal. The first, of course, was diving legend Greg Louganis. Louganis, a multiple gold medal winner, came out after the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Mitcham will have his chance to grab gold in the same event, the 10 metre platform, as Louganis.
Mitcham’s courageous decision to come out is an inspiration to gay athletes, and non-athletes, everywhere. Pinke salutes his decision.
Are you interested in gay sportsmen? Then check out Pinke.biz next week when we publish our exclusive interview with John Amaechi. For those of you not in the know, Amaechi is a former professional basketball player who played in Europe and for several NBA teams. Last year Amaechi came out in his book Man in the Middle. We’ll be speaking to Amaechi about sports, sexuality, and his life and charity work. Make sure you check it out.
Matthew Mitcham will compete in the 10 metre platform competition at the Beijing Games. Image by Maarten.
Mitcham recently came out in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, making him Australia’s only openly gay Olympic athlete.
The 20-year-old diver spoke candidly of the difficulties he faced in both life and sports. The young diver was a star at an early age, but battled severe depression that was partially related to his being gay. As a teenager he had burnt out both mentally and physically, leading to his retirement from diving.
But in less than a year Mitcham realized he had made a huge mistake. He jumped headfirst back in the pool and in life. He’s been incredibly successful, just last week winning gold at the USA Diving Grand Prix in Miami.
Mitcham’s goal is to become just the second openly gay diver to win an Olympic medal. The first, of course, was diving legend Greg Louganis. Louganis, a multiple gold medal winner, came out after the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Mitcham will have his chance to grab gold in the same event, the 10 metre platform, as Louganis.
Mitcham’s courageous decision to come out is an inspiration to gay athletes, and non-athletes, everywhere. Pinke salutes his decision.
Are you interested in gay sportsmen? Then check out Pinke.biz next week when we publish our exclusive interview with John Amaechi. For those of you not in the know, Amaechi is a former professional basketball player who played in Europe and for several NBA teams. Last year Amaechi came out in his book Man in the Middle. We’ll be speaking to Amaechi about sports, sexuality, and his life and charity work. Make sure you check it out.
