Openly gay diver wins gold medal...

[joeybee12]

...I did not know this and apparently NBC didn't want us to know. Good for him...and phooey on NBC for this, which only adds to their crappy coverage.

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Diver Matthew Mitcham, the only openly gay male athlete in the Beijing Olympics, won gold in the 10m platform. He beat Chinese favorite Zhou Luxin by 4.8 points, preventing China from sweeping gold in diving events. Mitcham is the first Aussie to win diving gold since 1924, but that's not the only thing that makes him a trailblazer.

He is hardly the first gay athlete to compete but he is one of the first to be out while competing. American diver Greg Louganis did not share his orientation until his diving career was over. To Mitcham, he is just living his life as a gay man and as a diver, and there is nothing extraordinary about that:


“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."

Though he wants to be known as more than a gay man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the gay community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question -- will NBC mention Mitcham's orientation during tonight's broadcast?

To Mitcham, that doesn't seem to matter. He has gold, and has reached his goals: "I’m happy with myself and where I am. I’m very happy with who I am and what I’ve done.”

UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham's orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes' significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards' fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle.

[Awsi Dooger]

1. That was an incredible final round

The Chinese needed merely a moderate final dive, ahead by 30+ points. He damn near landed on his back, opening the door. But the Australian diver still needed 9.5s and pulled it off, denying a Chinese 8-for-8 diving sweep of the golds.

I suspected he was gay. I don't even know why I'm mentioning it but I remember it crossed my mind a few times during the prelims and finals. It is ridiculous NBC didn't say anything. At one point on the stupid afternoon show with Tiki Barber they ran a fluff piece in sex in the Olympic Village including the number of condoms distributed in the Village at one Olympiad. Cynthia Potter is one of my favorite sports analysts but she sticks to the basics, twists and splash. I can't remember anything controversial in all the years she's commentated on diving.

[MrCoffee]

2. I can't believe the Chinese diver tanked.

How much pressure was on him to ensure a Chinese sweep of diving gold? MrsCoffee and I couldn't remember seeing any other Chinese diver miss a dive so badly in any of the rounds (mens, womens, springboard, synchro)...his final dive was far and away the worst of the bunch.