From Yahoo News (written by Maggie Hendricks):
Diver Matthew Mitcham, the only openly gay male athlete in the Beijing Olympics, won gold in the 10m platform. He beat Chinese favorite Zhou Luxin by 4.8 points, preventing China from sweeping gold in diving events. Mitcham is the first Aussie to win diving gold since 1924, but that’s not the only thing that makes him a trailblazer.
He is hardly the first gay athlete to compete but he is one of the first to be out while competing. American diver Greg Louganis did not share his orientation until his diving career was over. To Mitcham, he is just living his life as a gay man and as a diver, and there is nothing extraordinary about that:
“Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive.”Though he wants to be known as more than a gay man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the gay community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question — will NBC mention Mitcham’s orientation during tonight’s broadcast?
To Mitcham, that doesn’t seem to matter. He has gold, and has reached his goals: “I’m happy with myself and where I am. I’m very happy with who I am and what I’ve done.”
UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham’s orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes’ significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards‘ fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh‘s wedding ring debacle.
via Shawn Marie Boyne
Above picture from here. NB: If anybody finds a publicly taken, publicy available photo of Mitcham and his family and partner, please leave a link!
ETA: Video of Mitcham with his mother and partner here!
If you dig deep into the MSNBC website there’s a note about him. It says
“Coming out
Mitcham made headlines in Australia when he revealed to the Sydney Morning Herald that he is gay, becoming one of the first Australian athletes to do so. Mitcham said he hopes he can find a way to bring his partner, Lachlan, to support him Beijing — though he can’t afford it on his own. ”
You can find that at http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1168/bio/index.html Beyond that, his being gay seems to be all over the alternative press and very hard to find in the mainstream press. SHould we be surprised?