Tom Bosworth Becomes First British Track Athlete To Come Out
Ahead of his appearance the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, British race walking hopeful Tom Bosworth has come out of the closet, revealing that he is gay.
"To the public, I'm going to come out," he revealed on the Victoria Derbyshire Show. "To my family and friends, this is no surprise... It is a big decision, but not one that's going to change my life personally."
Bowsworth has penned a new essay for the BBC in which he recounts coming out to his teammates, including Mo Farrah, the most decorated person in British athletics history, who didn't bat an eyelid.
"It shows you that if someone of Mo's stature can be supportive then there should be no issues from others."
Of course, not everyone in Bosworth's life has always been so respectful.
"When I was competing in local athletics a number of years ago, some other athletes called me 'fag' or 'queer'. And when I was at school, when those feelings were still developing, I had my head smashed through a window by a group of boys." Bosworth convinced himself that telling people about the incident would make him look guilty, so as a result he kept quite.
In the end, the incident ended up making him stronger.
"I realized they had no positive part to play in my life and fortunately I had enough people around me who I could rely on for support. Sometimes, you have to be a bit thick-skinned about it all and I learned that lesson, sometimes literally, in school."
Bosworth stresses that he's a normal person, just like anyone else.
"I know there will always be people who have a problem with my sexuality, but one person's opinion doesn't affect me now, as I have support from my parents and partner."