Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon
looked back on his coming out journey in an op-ed celebrating
National Coming Out Day (October 11).
Rippon, 30, came out gay in 2015. At
the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Rippon won a
bronze medal as part of the figure skating team event. Following the
Olympics, Rippon announced his retirement from competitive figure
skating.
In his op-ed, Rippon said that he
“gained a family” when he came out.
“When I finally told my friends and
family that I was gay, even if to them nothing was different, to me
it felt like a huge weight was off my shoulders,” Rippon
said. “Everyone was very supportive; I was never made to feel
different or that I wasn't equal to the people in my life. I know
that isn't the story for a lot of LGBTQ+ people.”
“In my preparation for the 2018
games, I wanted to do things differently. I had already failed to
qualify for an Olympics twice, so I really had nothing to lose. I
came out in my sporting life in 2015, the year after the Olympics.
There were no other out athletes in my sport. It felt like something
I had to do. If this was the thing that kept me off the Olympic team
for a third time, that was okay. It was more important to me than
that. I did it for the younger version of myself that felt so
uncomfortable in their own skin for so long. I didn't want another
young kid to feel the way I did.”
“All these moments led to the
incredible experiences I had in 2018. Being able to represent my
country at the Olympics was such a huge honor and a dream come true.
Being able to do that as an out athlete, being totally myself, was
liberating.”
“Since my coming out I've also met
some of the most inspiring people I've ever known. I've realized that
when you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, you gain a family.”
“It does get better. Not immediately
and sometimes not quickly, but it does. You are stronger than you
think. You are braver than you know. And you are very loved,” he
wrote.