Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy has said
fears he had about coming out gay never materialized.
The 27-year-old skier came out on the
cover of ESPN Magazine following his silver medal win at the
2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
In that article, Kenworthy discussed
some of his fears about coming out as an athlete.
Speaking with Variety, Kenworthy
said that most of his fears never materialized.
“I feel like most of my fears were
unnecessary, and I think that tends to be the case with people who
are in the closet,” Kenworthy said. “I think you build it up to
be this big thing that’s worse and scarier and harder than it is. I
was scared because our whole income was based on sponsorships, and
you get sponsors based off your image. I thought there wasn’t a
place for a gay guy in my sport. There had never been one before me.
I came out, and it was the opposite of what I expected. I was the
most endorsed athlete at the Olympics, which was kind of insane to
me.”
Kenworthy added that he's not likely to
compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“I think I would be too old for it,”
he
said. “I was one of the older guys at this Olympics. There's
still a career that exists around skiing that doesn't necessarily
revolve around the Olympics.”