Tom Daley, Olympic gold wner, proud to be openly gay

Contents:

• OLYMPIC SWIMMER MARK THORMEYER PERFORMED AT HIS PEAK AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• THERE ARE A RERD 11 OPENLY GAY MALE OLYMPIANS R. NONE IS AN AMERIN.
• GAY OLYMPICS SWIMMER MAK WAV AND OUT OF THE WATER
• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• NICK ALBIERO, 28-TIME ALL-AMERIN SWIMMER, IS GAY OIYMPIC HOPEFUL
• GAY OLYMPIAN KEH FROSTAD WAS HARASSED, ATTACKED BY SWIMMERS 1992
• TOM DALEY AFTER WNG GOLD: ‘I'M GAY AND AN OLYMPIC CHAMPN'
• 'I FEEL VERY EMPOWERED': DIVER TOM DALEY DISCS BEG OPENLY GAY AFTER WNG GOLD
• WHY THE FIRST GAY OLYMPICS WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT SPORTS
• FAMEWATCHER SEARCH PRIMARY MENU SKIP TO NTENT HOMECELEBRY HAIR TRANSPLANTCELEBRY PLASTIC SURGERYCELEBRY LEATHER JACKETBODY SHAPER SEARCH FOR: GAY MALE ATHLET, HOT MALE SWIMMERS, SWIMWEAR FOR MENGAY SWIMMERS LIST: OLYMPIANS AND COLLEGE STARS

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

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. At least 186 publicly out gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, queer and nonbary athlet were Tokyo for the Summer Olympic Gam, more than triple the number who participated at the 2016 R Gam.

“Competg at the Olympics as an openly gay athlete is pretty amazg, ” Canadian swimmer Mark Thormeyer told Outsports. Thormeyer was not out when he peted at the 2016 R Olympics and me out publicly as gay a 2020 say for Outsports. Elissa Alarie (Canada)#Brt Benn (Canada)#Kelly Brazier (New Zealand)Gayle Broughton (New Zealand)#Isadora Cello (Brazil) Lren Doyle (USA)#Mara Fravanti (Brazil)#Megan Jon (Bra)Alev Kelter (USA)Ghislae Landry (Canada)#Kaili Lan (Canada)#Celia Quansah (Bra)Kristen Thomas (USA)Ruby Tui (New Zealand)#Sharni Williams (Atralia)Portia Woodman (New Zealand).

When the Olympics start this weekend R Janeiro, there will be a rerd 41 publicly out gay, lbian and bisexual athlet.

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

Includ this total are a rerd 11 gay male athlet. Diver Patrick Jefey was openly gay as a diver the 1996 Olympics. In May, the openly gay Fnish swimmer won the 50-meter etyle at the European champnships, ls than three months before he is set to swim the same race, along wh the 100-meter etyle, Tokyo.

But was jt before the 2014 Wter Olympics Sochi, Rsia, (where they obvly don’t have swimmg) where the 6-10 Fn ma his biggt splash, when he me out as gay.

“I wanted to jo the discsn relatn to Sochi, sce is a sad fact that the Rsian gay law affects negatively Rsian young people’s liv and g human rights general, he told the Fnish Natnal TV Channel YLE’s “Sports Weekend” show at the time. 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.

GAY OLYMPICS SWIMMER MAK WAV AND OUT OF THE WATER

“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.

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

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.

NICK ALBIERO, 28-TIME ALL-AMERIN SWIMMER, IS GAY OIYMPIC HOPEFUL

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. 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.

GAY OLYMPIAN KEH FROSTAD WAS HARASSED, ATTACKED BY SWIMMERS 1992

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

TOM DALEY AFTER WNG GOLD: ‘I'M GAY AND AN OLYMPIC CHAMPN'

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.

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

Now the gay two-time NCAA champn for the Universy of Louisville, and current Olympic-hopeful swimmer, is talkg more publicly about beg a gay athlete bee, after all of the years, he’s simply ready to do so. Keh Frostad was a gay swimmer at the 1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, but virtually no one the public knew .

For their part, the women at Texas were fantastic supporters, even jog him for a night out at a gay bar. We hear that you’re out and you’re gay.

Frostad was simply gay, not terted makg the Olympics “polil. ” Still, was clear that this USOC reprentative felt talkg about beg gay was “polil.

WHY THE FIRST GAY OLYMPICS WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT SPORTS

The victory was pecially meangful for Daley his send Olympics as an openly gay man.

FAMEWATCHER SEARCH PRIMARY MENU SKIP TO NTENT HOMECELEBRY HAIR TRANSPLANTCELEBRY PLASTIC SURGERYCELEBRY LEATHER JACKETBODY SHAPER SEARCH FOR: GAY MALE ATHLET, HOT MALE SWIMMERS, SWIMWEAR FOR MENGAY SWIMMERS LIST: OLYMPIANS AND COLLEGE STARS

"I feel credibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champn, " said Daley who was visibly emotnal. Daley's Amerin-born hband won a screenwrg Osr 2008 for “Milk, " the bgraphil film based on the life of gay rights activist and polician Harvey Milk.