British swimmer Dan Jervis comes out as gay: “I’m proud of who I am”
British distance swimmer Dan Jervis has come out as gay. In an interview with the BBC for their LGBT Sport Podcast, the Welsh athlete said it has taken “24 years” for him to be comfortable with his sexuality. “Everyone’s journey is different, but I think I’ve always known,” said Jervis, who is now 26. “It was something in the back of my mind, bugging me.
I thought I was bisexual and had girlfriends that I loved – but it came to about three years ago where I knew I had to deal with this. “It wasn’t affecting my swimming, but me as a human being.
It sounds quite drastic, but I wasn’t enjoying my life. Yeah, I was smiling, but there was something missing to make me properly happy.” Jervis first confided in a counsellor and his best friend about his sexuality.
Reminiscing on when he came out to the latter, he continued: “At that point, I’d never said the words out loud to myself. I said to her: ‘I think I’m gay.’ “I couldn’t even say: ‘I’m gay.’ It was still… I couldn’t say it.” I was basically punching the words out.
