• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD

Gay Canadian Figure Skater, Olympic Silver Medalist Eric Radford Is Pushing A Perfect 10

December 5, 2014 by John Wright

Radford.Eric1

Canadian figure skater Eric Radford (above) seriously considered coming out publicly prior to the Sochi Olympics. 

But ultimately Radford decided he didn't want to be a poster child at an event where gay rights were sure to be a hot-button issue — or worse, risk scrutiny from Russian authorities looking to enforce the country's anti-gay law. 

Radford.Eric4"My concern was that I would be known as 'the gay athlete' if I came out at the Olympics, rather than Eric the medalling figure skater who happens to be gay," Radford tells OutSports. "And I felt uncomfortable with that title."

Whether you agree with it or not, Radford's decision appears to have paid off. Focused on the competition and not media hype over his sexuality, he helped the Canadian team earn a silver medal in Sochi.

Now, as he and his figure skating partner, Meagan Duhamel (right), continue to enjoy remarkable success, Radford decided the time was right. According to OutSports, he becomes the first elite figure skater to come out at the height of his career. 

Radford and Duhamel are three-time defending Canadian pairs champions — and they won bronze at the World Championships in 2013 and 2014. Now, they're setting their sights on the 2018 Olympics in South Korea — Radford even got a tattoo on his chest as a symbol of his dedication to that goal. 

In the OutSports interview, Radford recalls how he was teased mercilessly as a child, not only because figure skating was considered a "gay" sport but because he had a lisp. But being gay in figure skating pairs also has its advantages, Radford says:

"A lot of pairs end up dating one another. It can become risky because your on-ice training can be affected by your off-ice relationship. If you have a fight at home, it makes that training difficult. I used to joke around that I'm the ultimate pair-boy. I never had to worry about developing an off-ice relationship."

Although he just came out publicly, Radford says many in the figure skating community already knew. He and his boyfriend have been together four years, and they're raising a daughter together.  

Read Radford's full interview with OutSports here.

Watch videos of Radford completing a performance despite a broken nose in 2011 and taking the ice bucket challenge with his boyfriend earlier this year, AFTER THE JUMP …  

 

Post by Eric Radford.

Filed Under: Canada, Sports Tagged With: Canada, Figure Skating, Sports

Recent Posts

  • Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    13 hours ago
  • Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    16 hours ago
  • New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    17 hours ago
  • Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    17 hours ago
Previous Post: « Latvian Politician Resigns After Praising Nazi Extermination Of Gays
Next Post: Let Colton Haynes Serenade You With His Sexiness in ‘Baby It’s Christmas’ – VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

  • Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

  • Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

  • New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

Recent Posts

  • Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    13 hours ago
  • Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    16 hours ago
  • New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    17 hours ago
  • Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    17 hours ago
  • MAGA Karen Heckles Chuck Schumer, Says Trump Insurrection Made Her ‘Sexually Excited’ — WATCH

    MAGA Karen Heckles Chuck Schumer, Says Trump Insurrection Made Her ‘Sexually Excited’ — WATCH

    18 hours ago
  • NYC Mayor Says City is Severing All Trump Organization Contracts: ‘Inciting an Insurrection Against the US Govt Clearly Constitutes Criminal Activity’ — WATCH

    NYC Mayor Says City is Severing All Trump Organization Contracts: ‘Inciting an Insurrection Against the US Govt Clearly Constitutes Criminal Activity’ — WATCH

    18 hours ago
  • Amid Reports McConnell Backs Trump Impeachment, GOP Leader Urged to Prove It By Starting Trial ‘Immediately’

    Amid Reports McConnell Backs Trump Impeachment, GOP Leader Urged to Prove It By Starting Trial ‘Immediately’

    18 hours ago
  • House Takes Up Second Impeachment of Donald Trump for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’ — WATCH LIVE

    House Takes Up Second Impeachment of Donald Trump for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’ — WATCH LIVE

    19 hours ago
  • Rachel Maddow Lets Trump Have It in Withering Monologue: ‘What Did You Think Was Going to Happen? Did You Think It Would Work?’ — WATCH

    Rachel Maddow Lets Trump Have It in Withering Monologue: ‘What Did You Think Was Going to Happen? Did You Think It Would Work?’ — WATCH

    19 hours ago
  • GOP Lawmakers Flipping Out Over New Metal Detectors Outside House Chamber: WATCH

    GOP Lawmakers Flipping Out Over New Metal Detectors Outside House Chamber: WATCH

    20 hours ago

Most Commented

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Log in