British diving team Tom Daley and Matty
Lee on Monday won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 10 meter
synchronized platform diving, making Daley the first openly gay
athlete to medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
This is Daley's fourth appearance at
the Olympics and his first gold medal. It is Lee's debut at the
Olympics.
(Related: Tom
Daley “doesn't care” what people think of 20-year age gap with
husband Dustin Lance Black.)
The win denies China a chance to sweep
all eight diving gold medals at the Olympics.
“Daley and Lee performed a series of
near-perfect dives at the fan-free Tokyo Aquatics Center, breaking
the dominance of China, who have topped the podium at the last four
Games,” Reuters reported.
Speaking to the media, Daley, 27, said
he was proud to be a gay man and Olympian, and offered support to
struggling LGBT youth.
“I feel incredibly proud to say I am
a gay man and also an Olympic champion,” Daley said.
“In terms of out athletes, there are
more openly out athletes at these Olympic Games than any Olympic
Games previously. I came out in 2013 and when I was younger I always
felt like the one that was alone and different and didn’t fit.
There was something about me that was never going to be as good as
what society wanted me to be. I hope that any young LGBT person out
there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are
not alone. You can achieve anything,” he said.
(Related: Record
number of LGBT athletes set to compete in Tokyo Olympics.)
Daley is raising one child with husband
Dustin Lance Black, an American filmmaker.
“No words!” Black tweeted. “So so
many tears! @TomDaley1994 you're an OLYMPIC CHAMPION! Congratulations
Tom and @MattyLee!”