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5 Olympic legends who say coming out publicly was the best thing they ever did
Australian gold medalist Ian Thorpe is the latest Olympic legend who's reflecting on his coming out journey.
There is a commonality among athletes who publicly come out: they all say it was one of the best things they ever did.
Given the dearth of out male athletes, it’s understandable that many of the stories about gay sports figures center around fear. But with each passing year, that narrative is changing.
There are more out LGBTQ+ athletes than ever before, and few of them ever express regret about coming out. In fact, many of them say they wish they took the step sooner.
This phenomenon is especially apparent among Olympic athletes. At least 186 out athletes competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and at least 36 competed in the 2022 Beijing Games. This summer in Paris, the numbers are expected to be just as high.
While it’s hard to highlight only a few stories, click though for five all-time Olympic greats who came out and express zero regret. If there is a more uplifting way to get ready for the upcoming weekend, we would like to hear it!
Ian Thorpe
The five-time Olympic gold medalist is one of the greatest Olympians in history. The swimmer dominated the 2000 Sydney Games in his home country, taking home three golds and two silvers. He publicly came out 14 years later, but now says he wishes he didn’t wait so long.
In a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph, Thorpe said he remained closeted as an active athlete, because he didn’t want his sexuality to interfere with his swimming career.
“I had to swim the Olympics and had to win. I did not want anything to be a distraction for me. I don’t want people talking about this,” he said. “So every time it is alluded you may be gay, you’re thinking of it as a negative thing and as a young person you make it bigger than it needs to be. So I answered ‘no.'”
When Thorpe made his big announcement in 2014, he was met with widespread praise. He wants other closeted athletes to use his positive experience as an example.
“I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man,” he said. “And I don’t want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable, and you can be gay.”
Gus Kenworthy
Kenworthy is an American gay icon. But earlier in life, the snowboarding legend was worried whether he could be himself.
After winning a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Games, Kenworthy did the media rounds…on Valentine’s Day. Unsurprisingly, he was often asked about his romantic interests.
Staying silent killed him inside.
“That tour after a medal, when you’ve just achieved your dream and are getting all this validation and congratulations… it was actually the worst for me,” he told the BBC. “I considered killing myself because I couldn’t imagine waking up and just lying all day.”
The following year, Kenworthy decided to end his suffering and post three words on his Twitter feed: “I am gay.”
It was the most liberating three words he’s ever written.
“The night before, I knew everything was going to change and everyone would know my truth,” he said. “I could barely sleep, and when the article came out, I was a mess.”
“But I was met with so much support, and that was the biggest takeaway. I heard from people I hadn’t ever expected to hear from; and I remember feeling so loved.”
Adam Rippon
Adam Rippon stole America’s hearts when he bronze at the 2018 Winter Games…and made a bold stand when he said he didn’t want to meet then-VP Mike Pence, one of the most anti-gay politicians in the U.S.
But Rippon wasn’t always so confident in himself. When he first came out, he says he was worried about how it would impact his figure skating career. Like many LGBTQ+ athletes, he thought it would hinder his performance perception.
“When I came out, there was this fear that it would affect the way that I was scored,” he told ESPN.
But of course, the opposite happened. Rippon entered Pyongyang as an out gay athlete, and left as a hero.
“It’s just so scary and there are so many things that come with it, but you feel so powerful,” he said. “To feel that weight come off your shoulders, it’s like the skies part and you can move mountains. Because of that experience, I felt like I was powerful and I was brave.”
Eric Radford
Eric Radford made history when he became the first out gay male athlete to win a gold medal in the Winter Games.
Looking back, the Canadian figure skater/heartthrob says his athletic success and personal liberation went hand-in-hand.
“I was out to my friends and family so I was very comfortable around them and comfortable in my own skin, but it translated even more to the ice when I came out publicly, because I had nothing left to hide for anybody else, in the public,” he said in a 2019 interview.
“It was like bricks lifting off my shoulder. It’s like when you come out just at home, within your family, you feel lighter because you’re more yourself. … “I remember just feeling so free and way more expressful on the ice and more connected to [skating partner] Meagan [Duhamel] because I wasn’t pretending to be something that I wasn’t.”
Greg Louganis
No story about gay Olympic greats would be complete without Greg Louganis, who won four gold medals combined at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Games. His triumphs in 1988 were especially sweet, because he overcame a serious accident after striking his head on a springboard while training.
Louganis was also dealing with a then-secret HIV diagnosis. At the time, the disease was viewed as a death sentence.
Twenty-four years later, Louganis is now a prominent LGBTQ+ advocate, and Olympic legend. He publicly came out at the 1994 Gay Games, and has never looked back.
His advice to young athletes? Be yourself, and success will follow.
“The one thing when I work with kids — I encourage them to learn to be their own heroes,” he told ESPN. “We all have a hero inside of ourselves to be the best of who we are. If we continue to bring that forward, then we will have lived a life to be proud of.”
True that!
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