US swimming champion Tom Luchsinger comes out as gay
By Sam Rigby
US swimming champion Tom Luchsinger has come out as gay.
The athlete – who won the 200m Butterfly at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona – discussed his struggle to accept his sexuality in a column for Outsports, describing himself as the “king of the double life”.
After climbing the ranks of professional swimming, Luchsinger explained that he found himself in turmoil over his “new semi-public image”.
He wrote: “Whenever I posted anything on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, I would read it over 10, 15, 20 times to make sure no one could infer anything about my sexuality.
“Whenever I was interviewed I would watch the online clips over and over again to make sure I seemed masculine. I seemed fully confident in front of the media, coaches, parents and teammates but completely inadequate, worthless and insecure behind closed doors.”
However, Luchsinger made a promise to himself in June of this year to change the way he was living if he didn’t retain his national title. When he finished in a disappointing seventh place, he slowly began revealing his sexuality to those around him.
“For as long as I can remember I tried to repress my feelings through athletics. I tried to hide who I was through medals and accomplishments,” he said. “I tried to pray away my sexuality. I tried to shower it off. Nothing ever worked.
“After years of stress, hate, and disgust toward myself, I have come to accept who I am. I am a proud gay man living my life the best way I know how, surrounded by people who love and support me!
“My friendships have gotten stronger because of my self acceptance. My smile is a lot more genuine and surfaces much more frequently. I laugh a lot more. My body has time to recover from a workout because I’m actually an easy-going person.
“I have found qualities-both physical and emotional-that I like about myself – though that’s still a work in progress. My number of good days far out number my bad days. I’m still the same person I have always been, just a hell of a lot better at it.”
Click here to read Luchsinger’s full column on Outsports.
More Stories:
> Olympics adds sexual orientation to non-discrimination policy
> Robbie Rogers: ‘Coming out changed every aspect of my life’