New Zealand’s first Olympic diver 37 years is out and proudly gay - Outsports

Contents:

• 5 TIM OPENLY GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM SLAYED, AND OUT OF HIS SPEEDOS
• WATCH: THE BT FROM 6 OLYMPIC GAY DIVERS
• DIVG HAS A NEW GAY PUP BOY, ANTON DOWN-JENKS FIRST KIWI OLYMPIC DIVER ALMOST 40 YEARS
• 'I FEEL VERY EMPOWERED': DIVER TOM DALEY DISCS BEG OPENLY GAY AFTER WNG GOLD
• CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: OUT GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM WS OLYMPIC GOLD
• IS TOM DALEY GAY? HE'S A DIVER, SO HE MT BE
• THIS OLYMPIC DIVER DON’T INTIFY AS ‘GAY’ OR ‘STRAIGHT,’ BUT ‘HUMAN’
• NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST OLYMPIC DIVER 37 YEARS IS OUT AND PROUDLY GAY
• ATHLET WHO ARE GAY
• U.S. DIVER ADOPTED OM CAMBODIA AND RAISED BY A GAY DAD HOP TO SPIRE OTHERS
• THERE ARE A RERD 11 OPENLY GAY MALE OLYMPIANS R. NONE IS AN AMERIN.
• IN A FIRST FOR THE NFL, JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY

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

He me out publicly as gay at the Gay Gam 1994, but was out to those around him om an early was the 'g out to myself' procs like for you?

I me out at the Gay Gam 1994, welg the athlet and sayg, 'It's great to be out and proud. My thought before I me out to my mom was, 'Oh my God, if my parents knew that I was gay, then the earth is gog to open up and swallow me whole.

WATCH: THE BT FROM 6 OLYMPIC GAY DIVERS

Beg a gay man wh HIV, at that time there was still a lot of stigma surroundg HIV. A lot of the attu the untry and the world was, 'It's killg the right people -- gay men, IV dg ers and prostut. Barthel is divg for Germany and do not classify himself as gay or straight but simply intifi as “human.

He was adopted om Cambodia at 18 months, and his adoptive father, Jerry, is gay.

DIVG HAS A NEW GAY PUP BOY, ANTON DOWN-JENKS FIRST KIWI OLYMPIC DIVER ALMOST 40 YEARS

In addn, Wdle has ntributed to the It Gets Better mpaign and was mentored om an early age by gay divg legend Greg Louganis—to the pot where he was nicknamed “The Ltle Louganis.

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

He’s one of the bt and most important stori of the Tokyo Gam after wng his first gold medal Men’s Synchro wh divg partner Matty Lee and spirg lns by clarg, “I feel credibly proud to say I am a gay man and also an Olympic champn. The divg legend, who beme the first out gay Olympian to w a gold medal durg the 2008 Summer Gam, will make his U. Mcham will play two rol a revival of Strangers Between, the Atralian classic that picts the highs and lows of growg up gay ral Atralia.

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

The protagonist, Shane, beiends an olr gay man and meets a sual lover.

Mcham was so unfortable wh his homosexualy, he physilly tried to supprs his feelgs for men.

IS TOM DALEY GAY? HE'S A DIVER, SO HE MT BE

“I was so sred of that I would actually tie a bber band around my wrist, and every time I had a gay thought I would snap , to try and associate pa and sufferg wh the gay thought.

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

To try and tra myself out of beg gay” he told BBC 2021. Today, the Olympian volunteers wh the anizatn Controllg Chemsex, which works to bat the reliance on dgs sexual enunters the LGBTQ+ muny, pecially for gay men. He went on to w the gold medal and bee the first man to w back-to-back Olympic golds both the sprgboard and platform divg what had ially appeared to be a straightforward eback story beme more plited when Louganis revealed seven years later that he was gay and that he had been diagnosed wh HIV six months before the 1988 Gam.

”She adds that “ 1988, there’s an assumptn that Olympians are jt not gay... But there was still no effective treatment, people were dyg by the thoands and many Amerins wrongly believed was only a “gay man’s disease. 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.

NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST OLYMPIC DIVER 37 YEARS IS OUT AND PROUDLY GAY

He out publicly as gay, then stuns Beijg wh a perfect dive. 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. Five gay divers peted the Olympics before Bra's Tom Daley. While Seoul, Castillo wnsed gay Olympic legend Greg Louganis htg his head durg a dive.

ATHLET WHO ARE GAY

Matthew Helm was actually the untry's first diver to pete while openly gay, and he won the silver medal for this dive 2004 for the 10m platform. 3 m readGay Olympic role mols such as Atralian Matthew Mcham and England’s Tom Daley have led the way for Anton Down-Jenks to bee the first diver to reprent New Zealand at an Olympic Gam sce 1984 and be open about beg gay as the Tokyo Olympics Gam opened overnight.

U.S. DIVER ADOPTED OM CAMBODIA AND RAISED BY A GAY DAD HOP TO SPIRE OTHERS

Gay Natn listed Down-Jenks as one to watch at the Commonwealth Gam 2018.

The news team for Gay Natn love tips om our rears. Vis the Gay Natn store Now.

Who was the first openly gay Olympic athlete? 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.

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

Today, we revis Augt 23, 2008, the day Beijg, Cha, when an out gay man won a gold medal at the Olympic Summer Gam. What Mcham’s w means to gays everywhere. An openly gay male athlete won an Olympic gold medal.

By wng the gold medal the men’s 10-meter platform divg, Mcham stck a goln blow for gay people everywhere who’ve been told they’re flawed or not good enough, pecially the athletic arena. For all the gay men who have been lled weak, sissi, pansi, too emotnal, not tough enough to pete sports, that fal dive was for you. Wh his glor fal round of six div, the 20-year-old Atralian beme the most signifint openly gay male athlete ever (out lbians such as Marta Navratilova and Ameile Mrmo have won their fair share of tl).

IN A FIRST FOR THE NFL, JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY

Watchg the divg all week, I would bet my life savgs that Mcham was not the only gay man on the sprgboard or platform. And Greg Louganis, also gay and wner of multiple gold medals, is nsired the greatt diver ever. Never before have gay sports fan been able to watch a man they know is gay w such a major sportg event; no need for gaydar wh Matthew.

His story ronat bee ’s universal for lns of people, pecially for many who are gay: Stgglg wh prsn, his sexualy and posssg a rebell streak and a taste for partyg for a kid who was not sure he f (he might have been the only diver Beijg to have a pierced tongue). He has unrstandably said that he do not want to be known as the “gay diver. ” “Beg gay and divg are pletely separate parts of my life, ” he told journalists after wng the gold.

Of urse, that is the attu he should take, but he has bee a role mol for gays everywhere, whether active sports or not, simply by beg the way he is.