Openly Gay Diver Wins Australia's First Diving Gold Medal Since 1924

Openly Gay Diver Wins Australia's First Diving Gold Medal Since 1924 As of August 23, 2008, Australia has a big reason to celebrate.

The only openly gay male athlete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Matthew Mitchem, beat Zhou Luxin, the Chinese favorite, by four point eight points to win gold in the ten meter platform. Mitcham happens to be the first Aussie to win gold in diving since 1924, but that's not the only thing that makes him a trailblazer.

In no way is Matthew the first gay athlete to compete, but he is the first to be out during the games. Grag Louganis, a retired American diver, didn't come out until with his orientation until his career in diving was over. To Mitchem, there is nothing exceptional about living his life as a gay man and as a diver

“Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive".

Even though he would like to be known a gay man, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans gender) community is happy for him. A sports Web site that focuses on the gay community called, OutSports, has put Matthew's win as front-page news. The Web site brought up a good question; would NBC bring up Matthew's orientation during the nights broadcast?

That doesn't seem to cause Mitcham all that much concern. He made his goals and won the gold: "I’m happy with myself and where I am. I’m very happy with who I am and what I’ve done”.

NBC didn't say Mitcham's orientation, but they didn't show his family and partner who were in the stands, like they had done with most other medal winners.

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