2013 was without a doubt the most landmark year for LGBT athletes as several sports pros came out as gay, trans or bisexual. It appears that that trend is slowing down as Brazilian diving champ Ian Matos has officially come out as gay.
Matos made the big revelation in a recent interview with with the newspaper Correio, which was translated by Outsports. Matos explains that he was inspired to come out by British diving champ Tom Daley, who came out as bisexual and revealed that he has a boyfriend.
“From a young age, I knew I was gay, but it was here that I got to live my sexuality,” said Matos.
Matos, who originally hails from Pennsylvania, moved to Brazil, where he now resides in Rio De Janeiro, to pursue his diving career. In 2013 he became the nation’s 3-meter champion and he also won a bronze medal in 2012 during an event in the U.S.
Although a friend urged him to stay in the closet until the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Matos says that he hopes his coming out won’t affect his diving career or his potential to get campaigns and sponsorship.
We congratulate Matos on making the brave move to come out and we hope that the international sports world will embrace him and allow him to flourish instead of repeating the old discriminatory mistakes of the past.
Check out some other out LGBT athletes below. – nicholas robinson
