"When you're a young athlete coming through, I want to talk about my athletics and my athletic skills and my world title and my world records, etc. I didn't want to be explaining to people what I was doing in my bedroom, because you wouldn't ask a straight person the same question. So that's when I was younger, I had no interest in bringing that to the general public, because I genuinely thought it was nobody else's business anyway."
"All of a sudden, you feel like, well, I'm part of this society. And the answer is, yes, you are part of this society. You can give, you can have a dream, and you can achieve your dream. Don't be fearful just because it's sexuality."
Colin Jackson, a former Welsh Olympic hurdler and multiple-time world champion, publicly came out as gay in 2017 after initially denying his sexuality following a 2006 tabloid story. In a recent interview, Jackson explained that as a young athlete, he preferred to focus on his athletic achievements rather than discuss his personal life, believing sexuality was a private matter. He emphasized that contemporary LGBTQ+ athletes should not feel fearful about coming out, as they are valued members of society capable of achieving their dreams regardless of sexual orientation. Jackson also discussed his struggles with disordered eating and body dysmorphia during his athletic career.
Read at PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]