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Diver surprised not more athletes are openly gay

Matthew Mitcham of Australia waves as he waits to receive his gold medal in the final of the men’s 10m platform diving at the Beijing Olympic Games on Aug. 23. PHOTO: AFP

Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, who won a gold medal at Beijing with a remarkable final dive at the Water Cube, says he is surprised but understands why more athletes have not admitted to being gay.

“I was actually very surprised I was the only ‘out’ male at the Olympic Games,” Mitcham, 20, said in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

“It’s a little bit sad, I think, because statistically there should be a lot more, but it’s each to one’s own. I’m not going to pressure anybody else to come out of the closet because it’s their own choice. I’m proud to be there ... that lots of other people can look up to,” he said.

Mitcham scored four perfect 10s on his final dive to win the 10m platform and prevent a Chinese sweep of the eight dive gold medals at the Olympics. The Australian hit the toughest dive anyone did on the final night — a backward two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists.

Mitcham recently signed with sports manager Dave Flaskas, who looks after the career of five-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Ian Thorpe.

Flaskas says he expects similar offers that he would get for other athletes he represents, including Tour de France and Olympic cyclist Cadel Evans and swimmer Leisel Jones.

“They all have different challenges, they all have different personalities, it’s not going to be a quick grab for deals, [but] obviously there is a priority because of the financial situation,” Flaskas said.

Mitcham says having some sponsorship money will give him more training time as he prepares for the 2012 Olympics in London.

He juggled his training for Beijing with an office job.

“Money was a huge stress leading into the Olympics for two years and for that to not be a massive burden on me leading into the next Olympics would be nice,” Mitcham said. “But that’s an ideal world and who knows what’s going to happen?”
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