Something I only just learned, thanks to the Independent giving the story a more prominent billing on its website than the SMH could be bothered with, is that Australia's first openly gay athlete will be competing at the Beijing Olympics later this year. Coincidentally, Matthew Mitcham was also featured on All Aussie Beef a couple of days ago, albeit billed as a swimmer (despite nearly all the photos featuring him diving).
It's a shame though. I mean, it's a certainty that Australia has had athletes who were gay compete at a national level, but it's 2008 and only one Aussie athlete at this level in our entire sporting history has decided that it's not something to hide, not something to be ashamed of, not something that might affect lucrative sponsorships.
UPDATE: Matt Mitcham, according to an anonymous commenter, is not the first out-and-proud gay Aussie Olympian:
Lisa Marie Vizaniari was fully out and proud when she made the finals of the women's discus event at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
9 comments:
I saw it in the SMH, after the headline 'gay and going for gold'. I love that he isn't Ian Thorpe, the lamest homo sportsman ever.
What a beautiful photo, he looks so at home in the water.
Is Ian Thorpe still hanging in the closet?
A gay friend of mine was singing his praises high and low at Uni the other day. He's hot he declared. Oh that explains him spending so much time in the water I replied.
On a serious note, that's great.
I would love to be the diving board..... on one of those occasions where his dive backfires and he smacks into it crotch first.
Ow, Tom, that's mean!
EC- Ian Thorpe is kind of the Cary Grant of his generation. It's obvious to anyone with half a brain, but at this point it looks like he'll go to the grave and his closet will double as a coffin.
Everyone is reporting he's the first gay Aussie Olympian, but he's not.
Lisa Marie Vizaniari was fully out and proud when she made the finals of the women's discus event at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Fully good on Matthew though.
Well, I certainly had no idea. Thanks for that, Anon. Post will be duly updated :)
There's been a few gay athletes for Australia. Ji Wallace who won silver on the trampoline in Sydney is gay as is Matthew Helm who won silver in the 10m platform in Athens. It's funny that the two representatives for Aus in the 10m diving were both Matts and both gay. WIth Ji and Matt Helm it's more a case of them not publicly declaring they were gay cos nobody cared. I don't think they ever denied it and anyone with any who was follwing diving or tramponline in Australia kinda knew. The media never picked up on it though, infact matt Mitcham didn't do his interview with the intention of coming out. It just arose when they asked him where he was living and if he was living ith anyone and he said he was living with his partner and it went on from there. It's not like he was contacted with the sole intent of coming out.
Thanks for the update, anon. Come to think of it, I may have even read somewhere that Ji Wallace is gay. But I must admit that trampolining isn't the first thing to come to mind when I think of 'sport' (I'm not dissing it, it's no less a sport than diving or gymnastics- it just doesn't have the profile).
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