Olympic swimmer Sean Gunn praised for coming out as gay
Former Zimbabwean Olympic swimmer Sean Gunn, who competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, has received widespread praise from both the LGBTQ+ and sport communities alike after publicly coming out as gay in an interview with OutSports published on Monday, March 18.
In the interview, Gunn said that he’d already been out with his friends, family, and teammates since he was 27. The athlete, now 30, shared that he’d come out to his teammates at the University of Kentucky before deciding to come out to his family. “My team, and everyone who did know, was very supportive and happy for me,” said Gunn. “I honestly don’t think anything changed at all.
In my head, I built it up for so long and was terrified that the way they acted or treated me would be different.“But I was really lucky: everyone was amazing and wanted me to be the happiest version of myself.”Gunn established himself as an exceptional athlete at the Rio 2016 Olympics competing for Zimbabwe.
The swimmer participated in the 100-metre freestyle race, where he set what was then a new national record. Unfortunately, Gunn’s competitive swimming career ended shortly after his first and only Olympic Games.
