Aussie Olympian announces he’s gay

Aussie Olympian announces he’s gay

(Australia) Daniel Kowalski, winner of four medals in Atlanta’s1996 Olympic Games, came out to an Australian newspaper on Sunday.

Kowalski, 34, told The Sunday Age that he was “tired of living a lie” and hoped to inspire young gay people. In Atlanta, he was the first swimmer in 92 years to win medals in all of the freestyle events.

He told The Age, “I felt really compelled to do it because it’s very tough to live a closeted existence. On the sporting side, I lost to some amazing champions, so I’m not for a second saying that this is the reason I didn’t win,” he said. “(But) I often wonder if the lack of self-confidence and lack of identity in many ways held me back from reaching my potential.”

Kowalski urged other gay athletes to come out, saying, “There’ll be hard times but you surround yourself with great, supportive people who love you for you and you’ll be OK.”

http://www.365gay.com/news/aussie-olympian-announces-hes-gay/