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AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING CHAMPION Ian Thorpe revealed he was gay in an interview Sunday and said he was now comfortable admitting it after years of denying rumours about his sexuality.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist made the revelation in an interview with British presenter Michael Parkinson aired by Australia’s Channel Ten.
“I have thought about this for a long time … I am not straight,” Thorpe said.
“This is only something that very recently, in the past two weeks, that I have been comfortable with telling the closest people around me exactly that.”
Thorpe, 31, said he had “wanted to come out” for some time, but didn’t feel as if he could make the admission.
“I was living somewhat of a lie in my life because I was trying to be what I thought was the right athlete by other people’s standards,” he said.
“I wanted to make people proud, I wanted to make my family proud, I wanted to make my nation proud of me.
“Part of me didn’t know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay, but I am telling not only Australia but the world that I am and I hope it makes this easier for others now.
“And even if you’ve held in for years, it feels better to lift this and get this out.”
Thorpe said he didn’t feel ashamed about hiding the truth, adding “I am comfortable with saying that I am a gay man and don’t want young people to feel the same way that I did.
“You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay.”
Thorpe also described his years of battling depression in the emotional interview recorded last month.
He said he was on anti-depressants at age 19 and had contemplated suicide, but that he couldn’t deal with the thought of leaving friends and family.
- Olympians praise Thorpe -
His decision to come out as gay attracted a flurry of supportive comments.
Olympic and world champion swimmer Grant Hackett said he hoped Thorpe’s decision to speak publicly would help him to move forward.
“He’s been through a lot this year with depression and other things and hopefully that can allow him, as a person, to move forward,” Hackett said.
Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham, who revealed he was gay in 2008, said he could “totally understand how difficult this whole process has been for him”.
“I really hope this process gives him some peace and that the media and the public give him the same respect and the same overwhelming support I received in 2008,” he told the Telegraph.
Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome praised Thorpe for coming out.
“(It) has clearly been a difficult struggle for him and I hope Australians appreciate the trust and confidence he has placed in us all by revealing he is gay,” Croome said.
“Nothing has changed about Ian Thorpe. He is still a great Olympian and a great Australian,” he added.
The swimmer — known by his nickname “Thorpedo” — retired in 2006 after a glittering career in which he ruled the pool from 1998 to 2004, taking nine Olympic medals and 11 world titles and setting 13 long course world records.
He returned to racing in 2011 but had a string of disappointing results leading up to his ultimately unsuccessful London Olympic bid the following year.
Since calling it quits for a second time in 2013, Thorpe has endured several health setbacks.
In February he began treatment for depression after a mixture of painkillers and anti-depressants left him disoriented on a Sydney street.
He was hospitalised for more than three weeks in April after battling serious infections for shoulder surgery. At one point there were rumours he would lose the use of his left arm, although they proved unfounded.
Previously, Thorpe strongly denied rumours of his homosexuality.
In his 2012 autobiography “This Is Me”, the swimmer wrote: “For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight. I’m attracted to women, I love children and aspire to have a family one day.”
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A true champion and lovely young man. What a travesty that he should have suffered major depression and suicidal thoughts at what should have been his finest hour – and over something that is nobody else’s business
True, hopefully it was his own struggle to come to terms with it that caused that torment rather than anything we’ve done as a community.
there was a young fella accusing a few friends of mine of being gay in a pub one night…he was a little drunk the young fella and being a bit of a silly billy ..
I went over to him and asked him “why are you asking these young men if they are gay – is it that you wish to experiment in the love that cannot be named ?” …he laughed when he saw the funny side of it and that was the end of it !
To this day I do not know whether my friends are gay or not …for why should it matter ; they are my friends !
I watched the interview on the news and have to admit I was a little surprised, I’m sorry for his trouble and hope he can find a way to cope with this terrible affliction. I never knew Ian Thorpe suffered from depression all this time. The poor lad.
Good on him !
Shouldn’t be a big deal, but unfortunately for Ian Thorpe it is. I hope he gets a resounding response of who cares and can go on living his life.
It shouldn’t be but still is. For those of you who do wonder why these announcements are still such a big deal, ask yourself how many gay or bi Irish rugby players are out? On the main team? Football? Its rare even at college and club level still.
There’s also a secondary problem of other LGBT hurling abuse at those who are out in sport for not conforming to their version of what gay should look like.
I revealed i am straight – where’s my column?
Where’s your column ? …… that’s very funny innuendo !
James, the assumption is you’re straight until you ‘reveal’ you’re not. You didn’t have to ‘reveal’ anything. You should count yourself lucky because coming out isn’t easy. I imagine it’s even harder for a public figure.
Never assume -
Where’s YOUR Olympic gold medals?
What’s the point Brian ?
James, I think he’s saying you don’t get a column because your life isn’t remarkable enough to warrant one i.e you’re not an Olympic medal winner
Well i think it shows how fickle the news has become when celebs etc get column space on their sexual orientation – i couldn’t give a rats ass what he does sexually regardless of a medal
Celebs have always got column space for the most innocuous and mundane things that most of us don’t give ‘a rat’s ass for’. The media’s always been fickle. I can’t believe this penny is only dropping for you today?
Don’t assume iv only come to the realisation regarding celeb news.
It didn’t “just drop” today –
never assume – that’s the 2nd time today I’d to remind someone of that.
Today however via this article was my chance to use the designated comment section to voice my opinion ..
To voice your opinion, multiple times, on a subject matter that by your own admission you don’t give a rat’s ass for?
I didn’t say you repeated your comments but that you’ve bothered to leave multiple comments on a subject matter you don’t even care for. Why bother? Your comments basically consist of asking where your column is since you revealed you’re straight, your ‘revelation’ that the media is fickle and a gag that’s been deleted. Really valuable input there James.
Let’s erect a column for you perhaps and let’s all shout I’m straight and proud !
Who cares.
As long as he is happy thats all that matters…
He obviously cared.
He didn’t give the Australian people the credit they deserve though. He didn’t come out because HE feared what they would think and feel.
Karen perhaps you are giving the Australian people more credit than they deserve. It wasn’t to avoid dancing in the streets with joy that he kept his sexuality hidden. He would have known what the reaction would be and what it would do to his career and sponsorship deals. Does the nation deserve credit for that? Probably not
A sponsorship deal and his career are not the nation.
No doubt there would be more people supporting him than not.
It is an awful shame that people have to discuss their sexual orientation at all. That’s more so down to media than the people of Australia or any other country
Everyone in Australia has known he was gay for years!!! Interesting that he found $400k the reason after all these years to come out!!
Cant see how he can be labeled an inspiration for other people to come out. Again we have a sportsperson / celebrity revealing they are Gay after their career is over and they don’t have to pretend anymore to fulfill any finacial sponsorship obligations. That guy in American Football who recently came out while starting his professional career is alot more inspiring for change to occur and prejudices to be broken down.
He was at his peak in late 90′s early 00′s so not quite as relevant.
Sponsors are concerned about someone being gay…tell us who they are ?
The lad has something like size 22 feet. If those links between anatomy are actually true, all I can say is ouch!
I was just thinking exactly the same.
It’s acceptable in nearly every country these days to be gay, so why is it news worthy to be gay? Your the ones making a big deal out of it. I was in Oz ten years ago and everyone knew then he was gay. So stop making a big deal out of people coming out.
“its Acceptable in nearly every country to be gay ” …… Ignorance is bliss Malcolm
It’s a big deal for other gay athletes who may find themselves in a similar situation. So it’s ok to be a gay athlete. If you don’t see that then you’re just thick.
He felt suicidal. That’s not normal or acceptable. This article helps us to understand his perceptions of gay acceptability, and hopefully, help those feeling simarlaly to overcome those dark feelings.
Homosexuality is illegal in 76 countries. Same-sex marriage is only legal in 16 countries.
Australian PM Tony Abbott on homosexuality:
“‘If you’d asked me for advice I would have said to have – adopt a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about all of these things…” He said this despite the fact that his sister is openly gay.
So I think it kind of is a big deal when one of their biggest sporting icons comes out.
But then again, if you gauged public opinion on him one time in Oz ten years ago, then I guess I’ll take your word for it that it’s not a big deal…
“It’s acceptable in nearly every country to be gay”
Take a look North of the border before you repeat that statement
What a shock that Thorpe is gay. whatever next? Christiano Ronaldo comes out!
I know men finding men sexually attractive is the usual definition of homosexuality, but I don’t think it applies when the man you are most enamoured with is yourself. Think that probably excludes Ronaldo.
Biggest surprise in sport since a match ended in a result! Good on him though.
Fair play. I watched the interview and he comes accross as a good bloke. Judging by the comments though I can see why he has taken so long to do it.
Wow, seems like we all knew Ian Thorpe was gay before he did. I can’t understand what took him so long to come out, he is from Sydney which is one of the gayest cities in the world where homosexuality is openly celebrated.
In a way it’s sad he took so long to come out. If he had of come out when he was winning all those gold medals in the swimming pool he would have confused the hell out of the macho Australian male image. He would have made a lot of bigots stop and think and his unique position as a national hero would have meant more acceptance for gay men by certain sections or Australian society. A missed opportunity really but at the end if the day it was Thorpes decision to play it the way he did. No one can criticise him for that.
no surprise there anyway!
Good man Ptrikeyz, if only everyone shared your opinion how easy it would be for all gay people to come out
Fair play to him , always loved him he’s a legend , nothing changes there
Terrific Athlete and human being and has been a wonderful. Ambassador. For Australia.
Gay? I envy Ian. I’m a straight but I always want to be gay….
In Galway last night ( in auld mans pub) and two birds shiftin in the middle of the pub.. More power too them…
Good luck Ian, Is it Queensland were it is illegal?
Girls will be girls !
Are you being funny with the Queensland bit???
Some man to talk dribble dibble!
Says BOGanity !
Amazing news
Quite obvious … But who cares? great athlete, great commentator and seems like a great fella… Now can we move on in our lives and stop making sensational news out of peoples sexuality, getting a tad boring.
I’m glad he has finally come to terms with his sexuality and I hope he will now feel better and freer for it. However, many young males fail to come to terms with the fact they are gay and end up a suicide statistic, because of the obligation to conform to family and societal expectations forced them to live a lie.
Shock …
A lot of people questioning why it has taken him so long, everyone already knew and he didn’t give people enough credit to be supportive. Interesting that the same day this “story” breaks there is a sports commentator caught calling an AFL player a “big poofter” live on tv. Maybe this had something to do with it?
Did anyone announce today they were Hetro sexual
No, but you just announced that you can’t spell with that dumb comment.
Apologies Thierry, read it wrong. I can’t read and you can’t spell, what a team.
He came out years ago I thought !
It’s so hip coming out these days. Wonder will any lads in about ten years time come out for being straight? What is the need to come out? It’s 2000 and freeking 14…
Why was he denying it for years? It was pretty flaming obvious and the only person that wouldn’t admit it was himself.
I think I mite come out Straight publicly
One would think announcing your ignorance would be more on point. Good man Thierry
It’s not really ignorance though Is it,
have your say