Skier G Kenworthy Talks 2018 Olympics as a Gay Athlete

Contents:

• A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENLY GAY OLYMPIANS
• OLYMPIC SKIER G KENWORTHY ON G OUT AS GAY, TURNG PRO, AND HOW HE BALANC SPORTS, ACTG, AND ADVOCY
• G KENWORTHY POSTS PHOTO WH FELLOW OPENLY GAY OLYMPIAN ADAM RIPPON: 'EAT YOUR HEART OUT, PENCE'
• THE ARE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY US WTER OLYMPIANS AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP WILL INSPIRE YOU
• OLYMPIAN G KENWORTHY ON HIS IMPACT AS THE 'GAY SKIER' — AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE SOCHI DOGS
• WTER OLYMPICS: THREE OPENLY GAY MEN PETE FOR A SPOT ON U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM
• GAY MOSW · CY GUI
• GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENLY GAY OLYMPIANS

When G Kenworthy peted at the Sochi Olympics 2014 he was aaid that someone would fd out that he is gay -- fast-forward eight years and he is out and proud, as are dozens of other athlet at the Beijg Brish-Amerin etyle skier, who won silver for the Uned Stat Sochi the sloptyle petn, famoly kissed his boyiend Matt Wilkas live on televisn before his qualifyg n four years later at the Olympics Pyeongchang. “Hontly, means the world to me to get to pete here as an out proud gay man and to know that there are other out LGBTQ athlet that are here petg, ” he said.

Kenworthy never thought he would see the day when he would be on the world stage as an out gay man and hop will reach the stage where stori such as his are no longer newsworthy. World champn skier G Kenworthy, who took home a silver medal om the 2014 Sochi Olympic Gam, has e out as gay.G Kenworthy, a etyle skier who won a silver medal Sochi, pos his home Denver on Oct. The timg, to say nothg of the untry, wasn't que right to tell the world he was gay.

22, 2015, 5:16 PM UTCWorld champn skier G Kenworthy, who won a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Gam, has e out as gay.The 24-year-old Olympic medalist and top ekier the world revealed the news an terview wh ESPN The Magaze published on Thursday."I am gay," Kenworthy said posts on Twter and Facebook which he shared the ver of the latt issue of the magaze."Wow, feels good to wre those words," he said on Facebook.

OLYMPIC SKIER G KENWORTHY ON G OUT AS GAY, TURNG PRO, AND HOW HE BALANC SPORTS, ACTG, AND ADVOCY

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.

G KENWORTHY POSTS PHOTO WH FELLOW OPENLY GAY OLYMPIAN ADAM RIPPON: 'EAT YOUR HEART OUT, PENCE'

"I wish that all gay athlet would e out all discipl – football, baseball, the Olympics, whatever, " Dover has said.

THE ARE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY US WTER OLYMPIANS AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP WILL INSPIRE YOU

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. ) 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. 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.

OLYMPIAN G KENWORTHY ON HIS IMPACT AS THE 'GAY SKIER' — AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE SOCHI DOGS

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.

WTER OLYMPICS: THREE OPENLY GAY MEN PETE FOR A SPOT ON U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM

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. 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.

“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. 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. Gay Rights,.

GAY MOSW · CY GUI

G Kenworthy beme the first Olympic skier to e out as gay 2015. When Amerin etyle skier G Kenworthy publicly me out as gay 2015, he helped change the landspe of then-24-year-old was sick of hidg who he really was, and even though he had jt won a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Wter Olympics, he was more miserable than ever. Outsports lled "the gay sports moment of 2018.

GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

"When I was younger all my role mols weren't gay role mols, they were jt sports role mols, " he said. Growg up Telluri, a ty ski town, Kenworthy didn't have too many role mols om the gay muny. He looked up to celebri like Ricky Mart, Ellen Page, and Troye Sivan for g out, but he only knew one gay person his immediate circle.

"I actually have an uncle who's gay, " Kenworthy said, "and my fay ador my uncle Sam, but he and I many ways uldn't be more different. I thk that was part of the thg that ma hard for me when I was g to terms wh the fact that I was gay. "I realized that 'gay' is jt part of someone, don't fe anythg else about them, " he said.