""That's great, but I'm sure there's more than that," said McDermott-Mostowy. The Washington, D.C. native says that while the increase in openly gay athletes at these Games may indicate a change in overall acceptance, "sports are still less inviting for gay men than gay women," adding that of the eight from Team USA, "seven of them are women and then there's me.""
""I was bedridden for several days and lost twelve pounds in two days," he said. "There was no coming back from being that sick," he explained. "So it was like falling in slow motion. For a whole month, I was watching my Olympic dream get further and further away.""
""This problem is especially acute with team sports where there may be more physical or emotional risk to coming out and a greater sense of not wanting to rock the boat," he said."
Connor McDermott-Mostowy will make his Olympic debut in Milan at the 2026 Winter Games. More than 40 out LGBTQ athletes will compete at the Games, a record, and Team USA's eight out athletes include seven women and one man. McDermott-Mostowy became a visible LGBTQ role model after publicly coming out following a 2021 U.S. speedskating championship title and has supported athletes struggling with being open about sexual identity. He highlights acute risks in team sports where physical or emotional dangers and a reluctance to rock the boat discourage coming out. After missing the 2022 roster due to norovirus and significant weight loss, he returned to win the U.S. trials 1000 meters and qualify for Milan.
Read at www.npr.org
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