In a video short for Teen Vogue,
Olympian Gus Kenworthy says coming out was “such a relief.”
The 24-year-old British-born American
freestyle skier won the silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi, Russia.
He came out gay last month in a cover
story for ESPN Magazine.
Kenworthy told Teen Vogue that
his mother was the first person in his family that he came out to.
He said that he told his mother while
she was visiting him in Denver: “I ended up just waking her up and
I was like … I'm gay. And I just started crying so badly. She was
so supportive and she's like, 'Oh, I know.' Moms always know.”
When asked what advice he would give to
closeted people, Kenworthy encouraged them to “get on with”
coming out.
“I just feel like I caused myself so
much pain by closeting myself for so long and I look back and I just
wish it was something I could have done sooner and I think I would
have saved myself so much heartache,” he
said. “So, I feel like if you're in this position, I would
encourage you to try to come to terms with yourself and embrace it,
because there's no point in being ashamed or upset about a part of
you that you have no control over. And I think once you can embrace
it and you can start letting people know and let your guard down a
little bit you'll be blown away by how much better you feel. It's a
huge weight off of your shoulders. It's such a relief. And get on
with it.”