I hope you're not affronted by the fact that people didn't know his name. Google wasn't allowed remember? Hard to verify facts without it. Because without wiking I did remember going through his profile in the past, but one can only remember so many names at a time.But since nobody else has remembered his name, it was John Curry. 5-time British Champion, and winner of all 3 of the big International titles (Europeans, Worlds and Olympics) in the 1975-76 season. And after that, highly successful as a Professional skater.
I'll add a name to that list, Gareth Thomas, Welsh international Rugby player.
I hope you're not affronted by the fact that people didn't know his name. Google wasn't allowed remember? Hard to verify facts without it. Because without wiking I did remember going through his profile in the past, but one can only remember so many names at a time.
Not at all surprised about the Rippon news. Sad that people still feel the necessity to make public statemens about their sex life...
Why, I am a little surprised not to see the name Matthew Mitcham mentioned yet - an Olympic champion, no less. :yes:
I'm not CaroLiza_fan but I will confess to being rather affronted by the disrespect shown John Curry in this thread. He wasn't just "the guy who was before Robin Cousins", he was an Olympic, World and European Champion in his own right - and yes, Curry WAS out while competing, he was outed by the press just after his Olympic title and went to Worlds as an out skater.
Not at all surprised about the Rippon news. Sad that people still feel the necessity to make public statemens about their sex life...
I wonder if people feel the same way when public figures or athletes announce they are getting married? I don't hear the "who cares!" Choir then.
Announcing a marriage and announcing about being gay, are very different matters, in my opinion.
And oh gosh. How I could forget Matthew Mitcham too. DAmn. Especially considering I watched him live on TV winning Gold in Beijing. But then again, he did drop off the radar after the dismal performance he made at London. :shocked:
I don't remember Curry being outed at all in 1976? But then again, we are talking about the athlete himself saying something, and in 1976, that would not have happened. Just can't imagine it. (I do need to read this book, sounds fascinating).
Have no idea who this Matthew fellow is? A pro soccer player? (In the USA, figure skaters would be better known) And have we mentioned NBA player Jason Collins? The only active out NBA player as far as I know.
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Matthew is Matthew Mitcham, 2008 Olympic Champion in the men's 10m platform. Openly gay from the outset, even before he was chosen for the Olympic team. There was quite the fuss because a company who was paying for all the athletes' other halves to go over to Beijing initially refused to pay for his partner to go. Until the press got involved of course. Also slightly infamous for the NBC coverage of said diving event, which completely glossed over the fact that he was gay and actually re-framed the post-dive interview so that you could only see his arm around his mother, and not his partner who was standing on his other side with his arm around him.
Otherwise known as The Guy With The Perfect Dive.
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About John Curry, didn't his coaches send him to America to be coached by Carlo Fassi with the specific goal of butching up his skating so he could win an Olympic medal? I also read that the reason he took up skating in the first place was that his father thought dancing was an inappropriate activity for a boy, unlike the manly art of figure skating.
Long time lurker here, but I felt the need to toss in my two cents.
As a gay man who started skating as a young teen, I certainly would have appreciated the knowledge that not only did other people like me exist, but were celebrated. Middle and high school were hell for me and my sport of preference only served to exacerbate the constant bullying and harassment. Even at the skating rink, homophobic comments were made by coaches and other skaters that I considered friends or otherwise looked up to. What I would have given to have someone I could point at and think, "That's me!"
Adam's coming out is a personal affair, both for himself and for people like me. As he himself acknowledged, his status as a role model for other gay skaters is crucial within a sport which likes to pretend we don't exist. Thanks to increased visibility within society of gays and lesbians, the notions of LGBT persons have begun to diversify beyond mere stereotypes. While being gay is not the only facet of one's identity, it is certainly a very examined one considering the disproportionate importance society has pinned to it. Unless we make ourselves visible and remind the world of our normalcy, we cannot complain about our portrayal as one-dimensional punch lines. I applaud Adam and hope that others in similar positions will make the most of their opportunities to impact countless current and future lives.