Gay men are wng this year’s Wter Olympics – and makg a joy to watch | Wter Olympics 2018 | The Guardian

Contents:

• 'I FEEL VERY EMPOWERED': DIVER TOM DALEY DISCS BEG OPENLY GAY AFTER WNG GOLD
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENLY GAY OLYMPIANS
• TOM DALEY IS DAMN PROUD TO BE AN OPENLY GAY OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST
• CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: OUT GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM WS OLYMPIC GOLD
• WHY OPENLY GAY ATHLETE AND OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST, TOM DALEY, WANTS DIVERSE COMPANY ON PODIUMS AND LEARSHIP
• TOM DALEY ‘CREDIBLY PROUD’ TO BE A GAY MAN AND OLYMPIC CHAMPN AFTER WNG GOLD
• OPENLY GAY MEDALIST 'CUDDL' WH PUT
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• GAY MEN ARE WNG THIS YEAR’S WTER OLYMPICS – AND MAKG A JOY TO WATCH

'I FEEL VERY EMPOWERED': DIVER TOM DALEY DISCS BEG OPENLY GAY AFTER WNG GOLD

"I feel credibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champn, " he add. The jump openly out gay, transgenr and non-bary athlet this year unrsr changg attus around the world and wh the Olympic Gam.

Tom Daley and his divg partner, Matty Lee, brought home a gold medal for Team Great Bra Monday on the synchronized 10-meter platform dive, and the victory was pecially meangful for Daley his send Olympics as an openly gay me out a YouTube vio 2013 shortly after he began datg his now-hband, Dt Lance Black. "I feel credibly proud to say that I’m a gay man and also an Olympic champn, " Daley said via the Olympic News Service after wng gold.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENLY GAY OLYMPIANS

Figure skater Adam Rippon will be one of two openly gay Amerins petg the 2018 Wter Olympics, a first for the U. But there’s one thg Rippon won’t be hidg – this year, he and etyle skier G Kenworthy will bee the first openly gay Amerin men to ever pete the Wter Olympics. There are gay role mols at every turn – on televisn, on lol sports, and our muni.

Even so, the last time that the Uned Stat sent an openly gay man to any Olympic Gam was 2004, when equtrians Guenter Seil and Robert Dover won bronze team drsage. It was Dover’s sixth time reprentg the Uned Stat at the Olympics; durg his send Gam, 1988, Dover me out, beg the first openly gay athlete to pete the morn Olympics. "I wish that all gay athlet would e out all discipl – football, baseball, the Olympics, whatever, " Dover has said.

Ined, by the time Dover me out on the ternatnal stage, was clear that gay athlet were petg and wng all levels of profsnal sports.

TOM DALEY IS DAMN PROUD TO BE AN OPENLY GAY OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST

) And 1982, former Olympian Tom Wadll – who would die om AIDS at the height of the epimic five years later – helped found the first Gay Gam for LGBT athlet.

CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: OUT GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM WS OLYMPIC GOLD

But was more than a earlier when an openly gay athlete first performed the Olympic Gam. Curry acknowledged that the mors about his sexualy were te, but when journalists asked prient qutns betrayg the era’s misnceptns about homosexualy and masculy, Curry fought back: “I don’t thk I lack virily, and what other people thk of me don’t matter, ” he said. ” (It should be noted as well that homosexual acts were outlawed the U.

There, a fiery, unflchg athletic spectacle, Curry abandoned his ual lively route of skips and hops for a stern technil masterpiece, makg him the first openly gay athlete to perform on the Olympic stage. LGBT journalists and historians, cludg Zeigler and Tony Scupham-Bilton, have talogued the many Olympians who were homosexual but peted a time before beg “out” was safe and acceptable.

German nner Otto Peltzer, for stance, peted the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, but was arrted by the Nazis 1934 for his homosexualy and was later sent to the ncentratn mps. Louganis was long mored to be gay, but didn’t e out publicly until the openg ceremoni of the 1994 Gay Gam: "Wele to the Gay Gam, ” Louganis said to the crowd.

WHY OPENLY GAY ATHLETE AND OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST, TOM DALEY, WANTS DIVERSE COMPANY ON PODIUMS AND LEARSHIP

Though the early history of openly gay Olympians is dotted wh male athlet, openly gay women have quietly gaed prevalence recent petns.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics Beijg, 11 openly gay athlet peted, only one of whom – Atralian diver Matthew Mcham, who won gold and is a vol LGBT activist – was a man. All six openly gay athlet at the 2010 Wter Olympics Vanuver were women, as were all seven of the openly gay athlet at the 2014 Wter Olympics Sochi.

Both of the terveng Summer Olympics saw a greater turnout of openly gay athlet, but women still held the large majory. Women’s basketball team – Delle Donne, Brtney Grer, Seimone Augt and Angel McCoughtry––were openly gay.

TOM DALEY ‘CREDIBLY PROUD’ TO BE A GAY MAN AND OLYMPIC CHAMPN AFTER WNG GOLD

Wh this year’s Wter Gam Pyeongchang, Rippon and Kenworthy are the first openly gay Amerin men to pete the Olympics sce the legaly of same-sex marriage was tablished throughout the Uned Stat 2015, and the cultural shift is apparent.

OPENLY GAY MEDALIST 'CUDDL' WH PUT

“In the 20th century there was more homophobia sport and society general. The summer before hostg the Wter Olympics, what many saw as an afont to gay rights activism, the Rsian ernment passed a law prohibg the promotn of “nontradnal” sexual relatnships to mors.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

The Uned Stat ed the Olympic platform as an opportuny for subtle prott, cludg proment gay athlet Brian Boano, Billie Jean Kg and Cal Cahow s Olympic legatn, and protts were staged across the world.

Rippon recently ma headl when he refed an offer to meet wh Vice Print Mike Pence due to disagreements wh his stanc on LGBT rights – which clu past statements that appear to support fundg gay nversn therapy. Pence’s former prs secretary nied his support for gay nversn therapy durg the 2016 printial mpaign. But they n certaly thank openly gay Brish diver Tom Daley, 27, who won Olympic gold on Monday after a 13-year pursu.

GAY MEN ARE WNG THIS YEAR’S WTER OLYMPICS – AND MAKG A JOY TO WATCH

Followg his victory, Daley spoke at a prs nference about beg an openly gay Olympian. “I feel credibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champn, ” Daley Lance Black, Daley’s hband and the Osr-wng screenwrer of Milk, praised his hband’s victory on Twter.