Gay olympic swimmers

There have been modern Olympians [a] (including Paralympians, Summer Olympic athletes and artists, and Winter Olympians) who have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, non-binary, and/or queer, or who have openly been in a same-sex relationship. Jervis, who came out as gay in , is a British swimmer who competes in the meter and meter freestyle events. Mark Andrew Foster (born 12 May ) is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and world championships, and swam for England in the Commonwealth Games.

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Foster is a former world champion and won multiple medals in international competition during his long career. He competed primarily in butterfly and freestyle at 50 metres. NBC's swimming announcers joined gay guys everywhere when French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou stripped down prior to his race.

Gay Swimmers List: Olympians and College Stars. Today in Gay Male Athletes, we bring you a list of LGBT athletes who are rockin’ it in the world of swimming whether in Olympic lanes, university swimming pools, or elsewhere. Competitive swimming is a high profile sport in organized competitions and its successful athletes are equally high profile. Despite its image of a relatively straightforward and non-impact sport, the competitive swimming world is individualistic with a very macho, gender-binary, testosterone-driven homophobia.

This assessment can be drawn from the many autobiographies and memoirs written by out LGBTQ individuals who detail the agony they had in the closet prior to coming out. The notion of catching AIDS by swimming in the same water as an infected individual is an infamous example of ignorance surrounding this disease in the sport. Strict bathing suit styles and locker room dynamics play a large role in the culture of the sport.

To counter this hostile environment, many local LGBTQ swim clubs have been formed with numerous inter-club competitive events, especially at the Masters level of competition. The challenge for the LGBT competitor participating outside of the LGBTQ community itself is to have the courage, endurance, support, effort, achievement and respect as great as any other individual in the sport.

The stance of governing bodies in the sport is crucial to creating an environment for this to be the case, and the approach of the coaches in the sport is equally important. Many of the competitive swimmers on this list are Olympic-calibre athletes who have won medals and set world records, including the renowned Ian Thorpe of Australia and his compatriot Daniel Kowalski , Mark Tewksbury of Canada, and Johan Kenkhuis of The Netherlands.

Its mission is to promote participation in aquatic sports among lesbians and gay men and friends of the community, and to ensure maintenance of the highest standards for aquatic competitions and international standards for all Gay Games and IGLA Championships. Simply click on their names to read their fascinating biographies. Share on Facebook.

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