In an in-depth interview with BBC Sport, Matthew Mitcham discusses his coming out journey, revealing his experience with depression and addiction.
Mitcham’s journey started at a young age when he realized he liked boys while attending catholic primary school. Due to societal views, and pressures from his classmates and teachers, the Olympic athlete tried to “train” the gay away. “I was so scared of it that I would actually tie a rubber band around my wrist and every time I had a gay thought I would snap it to try and associate pain and suffering with the gay thought.
To try and train myself out of being gay,” he revealed. As a form of escape, Mitcham focused on diving, which helped him free his mind, but his dedication to the sport quickly