Gay Australian Olympian Matthew Mitcham Wins Hall of Fame Award

Matthew Mitcham was named joint winner (with pole vaulter Steve Hooker) of Australia's Don Award, named in honour of cricket playerd Sir Donald Bradman, at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: "Six of the seven nominees were medallists at the Beijing Games, the odd one out being 2007 MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner. But it was pole vaulter Hooker and diver Mitcham who got the nod from the judges. Hooker, 26, became the first Australian to win an Olympic pole vault title, four times clearing the bar at his third and final attempt before setting a new Games record of 5.96m. It was the first Olympic athletics gold medal by an Australian man since Ralph Doubell won the 800m title in Mexico City 40 years ago. Mitcham prevented a clean sweep by the host nation in diving in Beijing, producing the greatest dive in Olympic history on his final attempt to snatch the 10m platform title away from China's Zhou Lexin."

Said Hall of Fame chairman John Bertrand: "There were aspects of both performances that captured people's imagination. Matthew had battled depression in his private life, and gave up the sport. At one stage he was diving into a pool at the Sydney Show to try to earn a dollar. At the Games he had to pull out the finest dive in history under enormous pressure to win the gold medal. It was phenomenal."

Yesterday...
Matthew Mitcham Sad to Be the Only 'Out' Male at the Olympics [tr]

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Matthew Mitcham Sad to Be the Only 'Out' Male at the Olympics

Australian gold medalist Matthew Mitcham held his first press conference since the Beijing Olympics yesterday and said he was saddened by the fact that he was the only openly gay male athlete at the Games:

"I was actually very surprised I was the only 'out' male at the Olympic Games. It's a little bit sad I think, because statistically there should be a lot more but, you know what, it's each to one's own. I'm not going to pressure anybody else to come out of the closet because it's their own choice. But I'm proud to be there, proud to be that one, that lots of other people can look up to."

Mitcham recently signed with Ian Thorpe's manager Dave Flaskas, who says he'll manage his career similarly: "The strategy for Matthew will be worked in the same template as it is for Thorpey, Cadel Evans, Leisel [Jones]. They all have different challenges, they all have different personalities, it's not going to be a quick grab for deals [but] obviously there is a priority because of the financial situation."

There were rumors that Mitcham had signed with Australian swimwear designer Aussiebum, but as of today, those are still just rumors.

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Aussie Olympian Matthew Mitcham Hits the Gay Newsstand

Matthew Mitcham is splashed across the cover of gay Australian mag DNA this month.

Last week it was reported that Mitcham was close to signing a sponsorship deal with swimwear designer aussieBum. SameSame reports that it's just a rumor...for now.

Said Aussiebum's Elsa Dunn: "The emails have been coming thick and fast about Matthew and aussieBum. The news that we’re sponsoring him and have asked him to be the face of aussieBum is just as your article outlines…a rumour. Having said that however, we certainly would love to have a talk with Matthew on his return and open the floor up to discussing not only possible sponsorship opportunities but to have Matthew play a role in our company….As to what that role looks like we haven’t planned that far."

They did manage to snag an interview with Mitcham in an aussieBum T-shirt prior to his Sydney win. Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

(clip via undies drawer)

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Gay Olympic Gold-Winning Diver Matt Mitcham Gets Postage Stamp

Australia's Matt Mitcham, who earned a gold medal in the 10m diving competition in Beijing, will soon be appearing on a set of postage stamps. According to Outsports, however, he's short on a sponsorship deal.

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Gay Australian Diver Matthew Mitcham Wins Gold in 10M

Breaking news from Beijing:

"Matthew Mitcham has won a gold medal for Australia in the men’s 10 metre platform diving in Beijing. The 20-year-old offered an incredible 112.10 final dive to beat the Chinese Luxin Zhou who had lead the competition until that point. Fellow Australian Mathew Helm came 6th in the final. Helm took silver at Athens in 2004."

Previously
Matthew Mitcham Fails to Make 3M Springboard Finals [tr]
Sportrait: Matthew Mitcham [tr]
Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out [tr]
Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]

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Matthew Mitcham Fails to Make 3M Springboard Finals

An update on out Australian diver Matthew Mitcham:

"Gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham failed to make the finals of the men’s 3m springboard competition at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday. Mitcham finished 16th out of the 18 divers in the semi-final, with only the top 12 divers going through to the final round. His teammate Robert Newbery made the final round with an 11th place finish in the preliminaries. Mitcham still has a chance at a diving medal on Friday in his strongest event, the men’s 10m platform. The preliminary rounds will be held on Friday night."

Good luck!

Previously
Sportrait: Matthew Mitcham [tr]
Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out [tr]
Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]
(image source)

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Sportrait: Matthew Mitcham

Here's a fantastic shot of gay Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham taking a practice dive at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing last month in preparation for the games.

His teammate Robert Newbury has high expectations for Mitcham, who is set to compete in the 3m and 10m springboard events: "In the last few major world competitions, there's been seven (gold) for China and someone else has always taken one away from them. I'm sure they're determined to not let that happen, while the rest of the world are determined to make it happen. Matthew Mitcham is an awesome diver, it's well within his ability. He's absolutely fantastic.
It all comes down to the day."

The semifinals and finals for those are on August 19 and 23, respectively.

A sort of 'highlight reel' of Mitcham's dives, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out [tr]
Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]
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Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out

Last month, the Sydney Morning Herald announced that Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham had come out of the closet, but Mitcham, in a new interview with Australia's gay newspaper SX, says he's been out since he's 14. Mitcham, who will be Australia's first openly gay Olympian when he competes in Beijing, is now 20.

Says Mitcham: "It’s not really a big deal. It’s not like I’m a different person. It’s not like I was straight before. So nothing really has changed....I came out years ago. All that happened recently was that I was doing an interview with the Herald and there was a pretty innocuous question, ‘Who do I live with?’ and I just said ‘my partner Lachlan’. And the journalist was really excited – she thought it was absolutely wonderful!"

Mitcham dishes on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: "Kevin Rudd’s opinion of marriage as something that’s only between a man and a woman is quite narrow-minded. During the election campaign he was all about appearing young and cool, but his views on gay marriage make him look quite old-fashioned."

And also those who criticize gays for speaking out about their sexuality: "Straight people talk about their sexuality all the time. They talk about the opposite sex, they talk about their wives, their husbands, their marriage. Those are all heterosexual discourses, and they do talk about them all the time."

Mitcham's set to compete in the the ten-metre platform and three-metre springboard events.

One more shot AFTER THE JUMP...

Making a Splash [sx]

Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]

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Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay

Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham came out to the media for the first time on Saturday, in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. He'll be the first openly gay athlete from Australia to compete in the Olympics:

"The gold medal hopeful's journey has not been easy. Those close to him have seen Mitcham, 20, battle depression, retire in his teenage years after physical and emotional burn-out, then nine months later resume his sport and build himself into the champion he is today. One person who has been by his side for the entire tumultuous journey is his partner, Lachlan. 'We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment,' Mitcham said. 'But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go.' It's not only Lachlan who has helped Mitcham to Beijing. His coach, Chava Sobrino, had faith in him when no one else did and resurrected his career. Former athlete Sarina Bratton cares for him like a son and fellow diver Alex Croak is a constant sounding board and his best friend. 'That little support network has made my dream possible,' Mitcham said. 'It would have been impossible and I probably wouldn't have made it without their help.'"

AFTER THE JUMP, Mitcham at the 2008 FINA Diving Grand Prix in Beijing...

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