Italian archer Lucilla Boari came out
as lesbian after winning a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in
Tokyo.
Boari's win makes her the first Italian
woman to win an archery medal.
During a Facebook livestream after her
win, Boari, 24, received a congratulatory message from Sanne de Laat,
a Dutch archer.
“That's Sanne, my girlfriend,”
Boari said.
According to World Archery,
Boari placed fourth in the team event at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
“I made history today. It's like
carpe diem,” she is quoted as saying by World Archery.
“I have been dreaming about this moment quite a lot, if I can be
honest, and that dream just came true. I'm the happiest girl right
now.”
“There is a lot in my head right now,
and I feel so relieved and happy, and I cannot believe it,” Boari
said. “I was pretty nervous for the bronze because in Rio my
team finished fourth, and I was like, ‘not again, not this time
again’. So everything was so amazing, and I’m really proud of
what I did.”
“It's a bronze, but for me it means
gold,” she said. “It's heavy, but it's nice. I couldn't wait to
feel it in my hands.”
Boari is the second athlete to come out
after medaling in Tokyo. Katarzyna Zillmann, a Polish rower, thanked
her girlfriend after she won a silver medal in the quadruple sculls.