Sunday, 24 August 2008

Gold, out, gay



Here's the whole thing, all the dives and the ceremony and the moment he rushes the crowd as he spots his partner.



This is a first. The first time an out gay man has won an Olympic gold medal.

The man is Matthew Mitcham and he's an Australian diver.

He is the first person to come out before the games, be supported by the local Olympic committee and go on to win gold.

A role model.

A few weeks ago I watched as the British army said they would defend and support gay soldiers. It was hard to take it all in. The amount of change within my lifetime has been astonishing but the fact that Mitcham is a first (and that in 85 competing nations his fellow gay atheletes would be criminals) shows how far we've yet to go.

Some more video of his astonishing ability:

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