‘About Time’: Gay Athlet Unleash Rabow Wave on Olympics – NBC New York

Contents:

• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• TOM DALEY ‘CREDIBLY PROUD TO SAY I AM GAY AND AN OLYMPIC CHAMPN’
• 'I FEEL VERY EMPOWERED': DIVER TOM DALEY DISCS BEG OPENLY GAY AFTER WNG GOLD
• THIS OLYMPIC DIVER DON’T INTIFY AS ‘GAY’ OR ‘STRAIGHT,’ BUT ‘HUMAN’
• 5 TIM OPENLY GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM SLAYED, AND OUT OF HIS SPEEDOS
• OLYMPIC SWIMMER MARK THORMEYER PERFORMED AT HIS PEAK AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• ‘ABOUT TIME': GAY ATHLET UNLEASH RABOW WAVE ON OLYMPICS
• THERE ARE A RERD 11 OPENLY GAY MALE OLYMPIANS R. NONE IS AN AMERIN.
• Q: WHY DO GAY MEN LOVE THE OLYMPICS? A: ISN’T IT OBV?

WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE

His gay and lbian iends San Francis, though, had never experienced an event as thrillg or movg as the openg ceremony. And so Wadll created the Gay Gam – then lled the Gay Olympics, until the Internatnal Olympic Commtee sued over the name.

TOM DALEY ‘CREDIBLY PROUD TO SAY I AM GAY AND AN OLYMPIC CHAMPN’

“The formula for succs was visibily and inty, ” Wadll said an terview followg the first Gay Gam 1982. That’s what the first Gay Gam were all about.

Wadll died 1987, but the Gay Gam ntue to this day, growg to an ternatnal phenomenon sce their first eratn. They draw over 10, 000 athlet and sometim seven or eight tim as many spectators, said Shiv Pl, vice print of external relatns for the Feratn of Gay Gam. You don’t have to be a profsnal athlete – even a proficient one – to pete the Gay Gam.

You don’t even have to be gay. And unlike at the Olympics, activism is enuraged at the Gay Gam, as has been sce the begng when the HIV/AIDS crisis was ravagg LGBTQ muni.

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

Above all, though, the Gay Gam are an event for queer and trans people to gather safely, play sports they love and be themselv whout fear of tolerance. The first Gay Gam were held San Francis 1982, where transmissn of HIV had peaked among the cy’s btlg gay muny. The Gay Gam uld be an act of prott then, too, Wadll cid, an event durg which LGBTQ people uld play the same sports they watched durg the Olympics and achieve the same kd of glory he had at the 1968 Olympics.

HIV/AIDS awarens has been baked to the Gay Gam sce s ceptn: In addn to banng discrimatn based on genr, sexualy, race and other tras, the Gay Gam wouldn’t allow any participant to be turned away based on their HIV stat. The Gay Gam also succsfully lobbied the US ernment to briefly waive a prev ban on HIV-posive people enterg the untry so they uld pete the 1994 Gay Gam New York and the 1996 Olympics Atlanta, chang ma wh the help of the US Olympic Commtee.

Anyone n participate the Gay Gam – really, jt about anyone. Though Wadll emphasized that sports weren’t the central foc of the Gay Gam, the event has hosted athlet wh real prows. Swimmer Jim Ballard set a world rerd the 100-meter backstroke 2002 at the Sydney Gay Gam.

THIS OLYMPIC DIVER DON’T INTIFY AS ‘GAY’ OR ‘STRAIGHT,’ BUT ‘HUMAN’

Powerlifter Chris Man began his reer at the Gay Gam and went on to w another 30 medals at var world champnships.

And unlike the “regular Olympics, ” at the Gay Gam, a same-sex figurg skatg pair n don matchg nim jumpsus a performance set to “Hopelsly Devoted to You.

The upg Gay Gam will take place next year Hong Kong, where same-sex marriage is not legally regnized. The openg ceremony of the first Gay Gam was the stuff of Wadll’s dreams.

5 TIM OPENLY GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM SLAYED, AND OUT OF HIS SPEEDOS

Wadll died of AIDS 1987, one year after the send Gay Gam, but the Gam and his dream for their impact have only grown sce. Participatn the Gay Gam steadily grew every year was held, and 1994, at the New York Gay Gam, the number of participants exceed the number of athlet at the 1994 Wter Olympics. The 11th Gay Gam, to be held next year Hong Kong, will likely see at least 10, 000 participants.

The openg ceremony of the Gay Gam is still emotnal all the years later, Pl said, pecially when participants om untri where homosexualy is not accepted march the Para of Natns. If you go back to ancient tim, the Olympics have a few centuri on the Gay Gam.

OLYMPIC SWIMMER MARK THORMEYER PERFORMED AT HIS PEAK AFTER G OUT AS GAY

But if the last few s of eedom and fun at the Gam are any ditn, the Gay Gam will have a long, storied n.

“I feel credibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champn. 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.

‘ABOUT TIME': GAY ATHLET UNLEASH RABOW WAVE ON OLYMPICS

"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.

Gay sounds too hard, ” he replied. But I am not homosexual. We asked: Would you be fortable wh sayg, “Timo Barthel isn’t gay or straight or any other label.

Whe, black, orange, thick, th, gay.........!!!

THERE ARE A RERD 11 OPENLY GAY MALE OLYMPIANS R. NONE IS AN AMERIN.

The 21-year-old New Zealanr, who intifi as gay, was exultant after clearg the prelimary round and took to Instagram to exprs his light wh the rult:.

And German diver Timo Barthel gave Outsports some thoughts on beg not “gay” or “straight. Before he head to Tokyo, Team USA rerve Nick Wagman gave Outsports the first terview of him talkg about beg gay. Atralian diver Matthew Mcham will forever be celebrated as the first out gay Olympic gold medalist, but the now-retired athlete jt add another big “first” to his long list of acplishments.

He out publicly as gay, then stuns Beijg wh a perfect dive.

Q: WHY DO GAY MEN LOVE THE OLYMPICS? A: ISN’T IT OBV?

It also ma him the first out gay Olympic gold medalist. It was wonrful to see him such fe form, and while he n’t have been thrilled to lose his signature 10 m platform event to a then-closeted Tom Daley, Mcham’s succs as an openly gay diver no doubt set the stage for Daley and many more gay athlet to e out.

Soon after the Gam he beme addicted to crystal meth, which remas a rampant issue the gay muny. Swimmer Mark Thormeyer was a wreck leadg up to the 2016 Canadian Olympic Trials, his hidg beg gay so taxg and bilatg that one day he broke down and lay helpls on his bedroom floor. He and Jerry, who is gay, -wrote a book on the challeng they faced.

As a sgle, gay man, adopted Jordan when he was 18 months old and helped nurse him back to health om malnutrn, sbi, ttal paras and severe Wdle was 7, he attend a summer mp where he was spotted by Tim O’Brien, the son of Hall of Famer divg ach Ron O’Brien, who quickly noticed his knack for the sport.