Tag: Matthew Mitcham

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Olympic gold medalist Matthew Mitcham calls Russian anti-gay laws “horrific”

Matthew Mitcham accepting his Olympic Gold medal

Olympian Matthew Mitcham says new Russian laws, which would see athletes at next year’s Sochi Winter Olympics jailed if they are involved in any type of gay pride activities, are “horrific”.

The Russian government has warned those who wear a rainbow pin or T-shirt or wave the gay pride flag face jail terms under laws signed off by President Vladimir Putin in June. Even gay couples holding hands is illegal.

The gold medal-winning diver from the 2008 Beijing Games said the laws were in violation of basic human rights.

“It’s really sad,” Mitcham said. “The way they are persecuting people in Russia is quite horrific.” Mitcham said Russia’s stance would hinder performances and take away the joy of the Games experience. “The Olympics is the best experience you will ever have as an athlete,” he said. “Their whole memory and experience is going to be marred by this stuff. They are going to be made to feel unacceptable, inappropriate, and it is a really awful, awful feeling.

“The Olympics are supposed to be somewhere where they can go to be relieved of that feeling.

“A place where you can compete and feel that gender and sexuality is not an issue.”

The International Olympic Committee said it had “received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games”.

However, Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly L. Mutko said Olympic athletes travelling to Russia would be expected to obey the new law.

Conflicting statements don’t make anyone feel secure.

(source)

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Matthew Mitcham, openly gay Olympic diver, to release autobiography

Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham has announced he will release an autobiography in December titled “Twists and Turns.”

From GayNewsNetwork:

To be released by HarperCollins in December, Mitcham’s book will also take a closer look at the anxiety and “crippling self doubt” that he has battled as a teenager and young adult, which at one point forced him to give up diving and head to the local circus so he could earn an income.

“People kept remarking on how they were surprised that a gold medal and fame hadn’t changed me,” Mitcham writes in a blurb for the book.

“I always responded, ‘Why would I change? Being me is the easiest person to be’. I was lying. It wasn’t.”…

…Twists and Turns also sees the 24-year-old Brisbane-born sports star discussing his effort at this year’s London Olympics where he failed to defend his crown after missing out on qualifying for the final. With an abdominal injury affecting his preparation for the London Games, Mitcham writes that his self-doubt and depressive tendencies returned with a vengeance.

Graeme Aitken, from the Bookshop Darlinghurst, expects the new release to do well. “Probably the only book I could compare Matthew Mitcham’s book to is the Ian Roberts biography by Paul Freeman – given that they are both high profile Australian gay sportsmen who have come out as gay. The Ian Roberts book was a phenomenal bestseller for us and is one of our top 3 bestsellers in our 30 year history,” Aitken said.

“But I would expect Matthew’s book to actually surpass sales of Ian Roberts’ book, as he has such a massive following on social media, especially on Twitter, but also an enormous international fan base.”