Ian Thorpe Comes Out as Gay
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Ian Thorpe, Swimming Star for Australia in Olympics, Says He Is Gay
By Karen Crouse of The New York Times
JULY 12, 2014The Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, whose five-medal performance at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney captivated his country and served as powerful motivation for a young Michael Phelps, has revealed in an Australian television interview that he is gay. Thorpe, a two-time Olympian and a nine-time Olympic medalist, made the acknowledgment in a sit-down interview to be broadcast Sunday night. He shares a manager with Michael Parkinson, who conducted the interview.
Thorpe, 31, a public figure since he burst onto the international scene at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships as a 14-year-old, has been treated recently for depression and alcohol abuse. In recent years, Thorpe has reportedly had financial setbacks. In his memoir, “This Is Me,” published in 2012, Thorpe addressed his depression, which dates to his teens, and denied longstanding rumors that he was gay, writing that he dated only women and hoped to marry and have children.
Thorpe retired in 2006, when he was 24. In 2011, Thorpe tried a comeback with an eye toward competing in the 2012 London Olympics, but he failed to make the finals at the Australian trials. He is scheduled to work as a commentator at the Commonwealth Games, which begin this month in Scotland. In 2000, the athletes with a front-row seat for Thorpe’s superstar turn included Phelps, then the youngest male competitor on the United States Olympic swim team.
Watching Thorpe’s ambitious program planted a seed in Phelps’s mind that bloomed in 2008, when he won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Athens Games, Phelps won six gold medals but said his most satisfying finish had been his bronze medal in the 200-meter freestyle, a race won by Thorpe, because Phelps had relished the chance to race against him.
As news spread about Thorpe’s interview, many people took to Twitter to offer their support, including Jason Collins, who made headlines last year when he became the first active N.B.A. player to reveal that he is gay.
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Aaaaw, he is really cute! I'd love to :mout: with him and show him what he potentially been missing from closet life :missio: :churn:
I love swimmers.
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Could someone post the interview (I know, not quite the usual stuff on here) for those of us not based in Australia? Cheers.
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I am the only gay person I know who believed him when he said he wasn't gay, in fact many of my straight friends also didn't believe him. Does that mean I'm naive?
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I am the only gay person I know who believed him when he said he wasn't gay, in fact many of my straight friends also didn't believe him. Does that mean I'm naive?
I didn't believe him, but many of my straight friends did. I just figured that as an athlete, he didn't want to come out as gay. Too much to lose. What he didn't realize, is that he was going to lose, no matter what. I am glad that he is more comfortable with himself now, and open to discussing what he went through privately in a public manner.
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Could someone post the interview for those of us not based in Australia?
https://www.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=f597c856d3a37e42ac52eddd49f86b6b70019440c5d47c0c
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I admire his courage and I respect him for his bravery. He still remains to be my swimming superstar next to michael
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First of all I love swimmer guys.
I often watched him on TV, I was sad when he resigned, but now I was happy to see him again, and to know he is gay is a pleasant feeling. There is another handsome gay men
But unfortuantelly he is so far away… -
he should have came out when he was still active.
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H.O.T
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OK - I am going to post something that you guys will disagree with: But I don't think he is all that hot. Perhaps because he is neither a twink nor a hunk. Neither muscular nor skinny. Neither butch nor cute in his looks. Neither hung nor a queen. He is fit (of course - he probably does as much cardio in a day as most of us do in a month). He is good looking. But thats about it.
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Didnt he deny being gay for years?
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Good for him
I hope we see more gay swimmers should follow his step and come out
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Good for him
