Beg me was my superpower: Gay triathlon champn Siri Ldley on owng her story | Flipboard

Contents:

• FOR GAY TRIATHLETE, FISHG THE IRONMAN FULFILLS A DREAM
• FOR GAY TRIATHLETE, SPORT HELPED HIM GET SOBER AND SAVED HIS LIFE
• GAY TRIATHLETE EMBRAC HIS PLACE THE MUNY
• GAY TRIATHLETE GAVE UP BASEBALL FOR LOVE. NOW HE’S PETED AT THE IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPNSHIP
• TRIATHLETE EXCELS AFTER G OUT AS GAY GIV HIM NFINCE
• GAY GERMAN ATHLETE FOUND G OUT TRIATHLON MORE WELG THAN HE EXPECTED
• BEG ME WAS MY SUPERPOWER: GAY TRIATHLON CHAMPN SIRI LDLEY ON OWNG HER STORY
• THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
• FOR GAY TRIATHLETE, SLURS ONLY MA HIM WORK HARR

FOR GAY TRIATHLETE, FISHG THE IRONMAN FULFILLS A DREAM

As the volunteer at the fish le placed a fisher’s medal and Hawaiian lei around my neck, I uldn’t help but thk about the long and wdg road that led me to that extraordary moment, a pivotal part of which was cidg to start livg life as my thentic self: a gay man. It also a hyper-mascule environment where differenc were not tolerated and the perfect place for me to further supprs any homosexual thoughts I was havg. Work was the only place where I was still closeted, though my close iends there knew I was gay and accepted me wh open arms.

However, after a strg of homophobic ments ma by both -workers and suppliers’ reprentativ, I found myself both g out to my boss and HR and mand that thgs change. Up to this pot both my profsnal reer and amatr sport reer, I had found a lack of gay or otherwise LIGBTQ+ role mols so I cid that if I uldn’t fd that for myself, I was at least gog to make sure that I beme that for someone else. Beg gay and beg an athlete are both such important parts of who I am, and I yearn for more reprentatn the sports that I love.

I knew that the only way for me to live sober was also to live as a gay man, yet I was willg to take this to the grave.

FOR GAY TRIATHLETE, SPORT HELPED HIM GET SOBER AND SAVED HIS LIFE

I was gog to cross a new thrhold and fally claim my gay. That moment marked a turng pot his cisn to be open about who he was as a gay man.

Pl he wanted to make sure everybody saw him petg as an openly gay triathlete. However, now that he was beg fortable wh who he was as a gay man, Delacz no longer saw pro baseball as a path he wanted to pursue to the excln of all else. And then the other si was I’m not good enough to really make an impact beg a gay baseball player.

One of the thgs I regret is that I didn't accept that I was gay earlier.

GAY TRIATHLETE EMBRAC HIS PLACE THE MUNY

Knowg that my teammat supported me, spe all the negative thgs I had heard about the way gay people are treated sports team, gave me the nfince to e out to more people.

Throughout my mpaign I ma a pot of my inty as a gay man and once aga did not receive a sgle negative reactn. I have found that there is this symbtic relatnship between my nfince and succs as an athlete and my nfince and acceptance of my inty as a gay man. Gog back to my regret that I didn't realize I was gay sooner, I often try and thk of what I would tell myself if I had the chance to go back time.

GAY TRIATHLETE GAVE UP BASEBALL FOR LOVE. NOW HE’S PETED AT THE IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPNSHIP

Your iends love you for you, and them knowg you're gay don't change that. I’d ma lists about posive and negative reactns about beg gay. I knew I was gay, but I didn’t know whether I was ready to speak about my sport.

They were all open to havg a gay teammate, and I had the feelg of beg safe this group of triathlet. Every time I’ve spoken wh someone about me beg gay, more prsure and bad imag have been eed om my md. This feelg beme stronger and stronger the followg years, and I felt more nfint to be an openly gay triathlete.

For the first time my life I said: I’m gay.

TRIATHLETE EXCELS AFTER G OUT AS GAY GIV HIM NFINCE

My goal and purpose [ for] participatg the [ 2010] Gay Gam [ Cologne, Germany] is to be a part of the spir of the gam and foster cln of all people the spir of g together. However, the Gay Gam give everyone that opportuny and is the most credible feelg to participate the Gam.

GAY GERMAN ATHLETE FOUND G OUT TRIATHLON MORE WELG THAN HE EXPECTED

"I believe the symbolism of the Gay Gam is a global event that monstrat to the world that the GLBT muny is vast and broad and every rner of the world and that by g together the spir of petn and cln monstrat to the world the value that our muny brgs to the world. I'd strongly enurage anyone to fd an event the Gay Gam which they enjoy and to participate. " "Homo.

" "Gay. The are jt some of the few homophobic slurs I experienced high school and the athletic muny.

BEG ME WAS MY SUPERPOWER: GAY TRIATHLON CHAMPN SIRI LDLEY ON OWNG HER STORY

I am 18, a San Diego rint, and an openly gay triathlete. Comg out was very hard for me, not bee I was ashamed of who I was, but bee the stunts and athlet around me ma beg gay a negative thg to be. Psg for a send, I knew this was a perfect chance to start h so I replied, "Nope, I’m gay.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

I believe the first thg about beg a gay athlete is that I’m jt a regular athlete. But I’ve experienced that beg gay is somethg many people look down upon. If someone didn’t accept the fact that I am gay, that’s fe.

If someone jt didn’t like me as a person bee I act "gay, " that’s also fe.

FOR GAY TRIATHLETE, SLURS ONLY MA HIM WORK HARR

But if someone judged my athletic abily bee of the fact that I am gay, that is not fe. All athlet are there to pete and they all tra really hard for what they want, and treatg gay athlet negatively is somethg that needs to change. Their discrimatn was a blsg disguise bee even though I was hurt, their homophobia ma me a stronger and a better athlete.

I grew up a hoehold where beg gay was OK. My parents always knew I was gay, they have never red, and they treated me the same after I me out to them. I was openly gay there and people to my face said they were very acceptg and that my sexualy didn’t bother them.

I was also told that the track and cross untry team ed to act "really gay" wh each other before I joed and they stopped bee they thought would be awkward. Beg high school also had s share of ignorant stunts who yelled "faggot" or "homo" when I walked by.