Openly gay Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham is unafraid to speak out on queer issues

SX/ Peter Hackney writes:
In August, diver Matthew Mitcham will become the first openly-gay Australian to compete in an Olympic Games. Not only is he an elite member of Australia’s Olympic diving team, but last month he became headline news around the world. The reason? For being gay.

Speaking to SX during a break from training at the Sydney Aquatic Centre in Homebush, Matthew Mitcham is nonplussed by all the fuss. “It’s not really a big deal,” he says. “It’s not like I’m a different person. It’s not like I was straight before. So nothing really has changed.”

While Mitcham, who came out to friends and family at age fourteen (Mum’s reaction: “Well, duh!”), doesn’t see his sexuality a big deal, he’s not naïve about his position as Australia’s highest-profile out gay sportsman.

He’s aware that other people do see it as “a big deal” and he’s happy to wear the mantle of ‘role model’ for young gay guys. “Being in my position, it’s inevitable,” he concedes. “There’s not really much choice. If someone looks up to you, then you’re a role model. And I’m happy with that. I just hope I do a good job – I’m not perfect!”

He certainly bears the markings of a good gay role model: he’s successful, attractive and he’s not shy about speaking up on queer issues. When asked for his view on same-sex marriage, for instance, he has no compunction slamming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

“I’m not happy with Kevin Rudd,” he says, bluntly. “Kevin Rudd’s opinion of marriage as something that’s only between a man and a woman is quite narrow-minded. During the election campaign he was all about appearing young and cool, but his views on gay marriage make him look quite old-fashioned.” READ MORE

H/T: UK Pink News

Fantasy gay couple

Jonny Wilkinson (right) is an English rugby superstar. Heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo (left) is a top footballer. Both men are straight - but - I know many a gay man that would love to see these two hotties get together!

An unbelievable but true tale...

Outsports.com has the unbelievable but true tale of how champion American sprinter, Tyson Gay (pictured) "became" homosexual. Read: World’s fastest man: Tyson Homosexual

Check out Good As You for more of this kind of crazy!

Michael Phelps breaks records

Associated Press reports:
Holding off one of his best friends, Michael Phelps started his second attempt to break Mark Spitz's Olympic record with another epic swim. Phelps set a world record in his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Nebraska, touching just ahead of Ryan Lochte to win the 400-metre individual medley in four minutes, 5.25 seconds on Sunday night. READ MORE

Waterpolo: QUAC is back with medals in hand!

James Schend writes:
The men and women of the Queer Utah Aquatic Club (QUAC) water polo teams returned from competing at the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatic Championships (IGLA 2008) in Washington, D.C. and have two medals to show for it. READ MORE, plus more photos HERE.

For all the Cristiano Ronaldo fans!

Via TMZ:
Hot pics of Portuguese soccer stud Cristiano Ronaldo in Italy.

Canadian diver, Alexandre Despatie ready to show judges he's OK for this summer's Beijing Olympics

CBC reports:
Alexandre Despatie soon will get a chance to prove he's completely healed from a broken foot he suffered nearly three months ago. Despatie, along with Olympic diving teammates Arturo Miranda and Blythe Hartley, will travel to Thunder Bay, Ont., on July 10 to take part in the opening ceremony of the junior national diving championships.

The Laval, Quebec, native, who was conditionally placed on the Olympic team with a medical exemption on June 3, must perform a set of dives in front of three international judges and show them he's fit and ready to compete at this summer's Beijing Olympics. Despatie must receive a clean bill of health once the Canadian diving team is announced on July 14 in order to qualify for the Olympics. READ MORE

All-American diver on coming out as a gay athlete

Jim Buzinski writes:
All-American diver, Greg DeStephen, at the University of Missouri. His coming out story mirrored many we have written about, and despite support in high school, the initial reactions of his Mizzou teammates were less than positive.

“It was uncomfortable,” Greg says. “A lot of the guys didn’t know how to deal with the situation. There are a lot of people here from small, conservative communities who have never known an [out] gay person. I wasn’t included in a lot of activities outside of the pool. I didn’t have a lot of guy friends. One teammate even told someone else I was going to go to hell for my lifestyle.” READ MORE

The beauty of... Nick Youngquest

Sexy decathlete!

More of "The men of the Hypo Decathlon" HERE

L.A. Kings hockey player Dustin Brown nude!

See pic on QTC's jump page (NSFW).

Sexy to silly, soccer fans come out in droves

More pics at GaySportsBlog

Fighting Homophobia in Sports, Euro-style

Samantha Vicars writes:
In an effort to shed light on the homophobic side of European soccer/football, a competition to create gay-friendly soccer posters was recently completed. READ MORE

Christian Boeving loses job after steroid admission

Jim Buzinski writes:
Fitness model Christian Boeving lost his gig as an endorser for a supplement company after saying in a documentary that he has used anabolic steroids since he was 16, the New York Times reports. Boeving was among the athletes featured in the sensational documentary Bigger, Faster, Stronger that looks at America’s win-at-all-costs. READ MORE

Detroit Red Wings win Stanley Cup

CBC reports:
The Detroit Red Wings held off a last-gasp rally by the Pittsburgh Penguins late in the third period of Game 6 to capture the franchise's 11th Stanley Cup on Wednesday night. READ MORE

Eye candy: German decathlete

I love this pic of German decathlete Pascal Behrenbruch; more at Outsports.com

Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens (wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys)

teasing us with his hard rock abs courtesy of Rod2.0

Gay basketball hero to be Olympic ambassador

Tony Grew writes:
Former NBA player John Amaechi will be Amnesty International's first sporting ambassador at the Beijing Olympics this summer.

The 37-year-old, who is the only basketball player in the history of the NBA to come out of the closet, is attending the Games as a BBC commentator. The exact scope of his additional role for Amnesty is unclear, but Amaechi has already urged athletes to speak out about China’s record on human rights. "To gag athletes is outrageous," the British basketball star told The Guardian:

"Since when are equality of opportunity, basic human rights, since when have these things been political?

READ MORE

WNBA's Sheryl Swoopes on 'coming out'

Wendy Carpenter writes:
Sheryl Swoopes said she is at a good place in life, though it took a while to get there. She was one of the first high-profile athletes to publicly acknowledge she is gay, coming out three years ago.

“It was scary,” Swoopes said. “Even if I didn’t have a child, it would have been scary. But having a child, it’s even scarier because you never really know how people are going to react. “Even today, there are times when I do worry about it. But it’s such a relief that we can be honest, I can just be myself, live my life and not have to worry about who knows, who doesn’t know. I would like to see us – meaning this world – get to a point someday where (being gay is) not an issue, it’s not a topic, we’re not discussing this. There were so many more positive things that came out of (coming out) than negative, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t think twice.” READ MORE

Out, Proud and Ready to go for Olympic Gold

Matthew Mitcham is the first Australian to go to the Olympics declaring his homosexuality, writes The Sydney Morning Herald's Jessica Halloran:

Matthew Mitcham is brave enough to dive from a 10-metre platform for Olympic gold and courageous enough to do what no Australian athlete has done. When Mitcham balances on the Beijing diving tower this August, like all Australian Olympians, he will be hoping the ones he loves will be there to watch him. The gold medal hopeful's journey has not been easy. Those close to him have seen Mitcham, 20, battle depression, retire in his teenage years after physical and emotional burn-out, then nine months later resume his sport and build himself into the champion he is today. One person who has been by his side for the entire tumultuous journey is his partner, Lachlan. Mitcham has taken the courageous step of revealing his sexuality to the media for the first time, in an exclusive interview with the Herald. He has also applied for a grant through a Johnson & Johnson Athlete Family Support Program to have Lachlan near him in Beijing. "We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment," Mitcham said. "But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go." READ MORE

H/T: Outsports.com