Olympic swimmer opens up about sexuality!

Olympic swimmer Daniel Kowalski has come out as a gay man.  He said he was "tired of living a lie"  and decided to join rugby league player Ian Roberts, Olympic gold-medal winner diver Matthew Mitcham and international rugby champ Garth Thomas by revealing his sexuality. 

He said life as a closeted gay man is hard and their stories helped him come out the closet.

"I just want them to realize that they are not alone, that the feelings that they have are probably quite common and that at the end of the day it's really OK. There will be hard times but you surround yourself with great supportive people who love you for you and you'll be OK.



Things pop in my head that make me realize that I clearly suppressed these thoughts of being gay … because it was 'wrong', as a male it's 'wrong' but even more as an elite athlete.



I always knew that I lacked confidence when I stood up on the blocks and I do wonder sometimes if that lack of confidence was fear, fear of not really knowing who I am.



On the sporting side, I lost to some amazing champions, so I'm not for one second saying that this is the reason I didn't win. I often wonder if the lack of self-confidence and lack of identity in many ways held me back from reaching my potential.



I look for all the things straight people do, I want to fall in love and be happy and be proud of who I am.”

We agree with this, but with a society that we live in conditions may not be as favorable as they are for Kowalski to come at as an open gay man.  If you are struggling with your sexuality or something personal, you ARE NOT obligated to reveal your sexuality to everybody else.  You should NOT have to feel any pressure on both sides to come  out or stay in the closet.  Do whatever makes you happy!