New Zealand short track speed skater Blake Skjellerup, who competed in the Vancouver Olympics, has come out as gay in an interview with writer Lee Suckling in the Australian magazine DNA.
In the article, Skjellerup says that he walked around Vancouver during the Winter Games hand-in-hand with his boyfriend and also visited PRIDE House, the gay meeting place at Whistler.
Skjellerup, 24, was New Zealand’s only short track speed skater, a super fast-paced sport that can sometimes resemble roller derby on ice. He did not medal, with his best finish qualifying for the quarterfinals in the 10,000 meters. He has spent the last 18 months at a training program in Calgary for skaters with immense potential but limited facilities at their home countries.
His boyfriend is also a competitive athlete, though his name and sport are not given in the article. He did say that one reason he likes living in Canada is that the two can legally marry. Skjellerup said he would have told any interviewer during the Games he was gay if asked, but he felt coming out publicly before might have affected his focus and potential sponsors.
“We are not yet at the point in society where being gay sportsperson is not a big deal,” he is quoted in the article. “If I was asked during any of my 20-something interviews at the Olympics whether I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend—in the same sentence—I would have replied honestly, but I may have replied hesitantly.”
Skjellerup said he suffered homophobic taunts from some fellow athletes early in his career, but that he gets along with them well now. As for homophobia in sports, he acknowledges it exists, which makes role models all that more important.
“Gays are too often given a stereotype,” he said. “Back when I was 18, and becoming serious about my sport and my Olympic goals, if I could have seen an athlete like myself out there—with whom I could relate to—my journey would have been a lot easier.”
