It’s been a long year for Heath Thorpe, but the climax is finally here. This weekend, the standout Australian gymnast will have a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games.

And he’s entering the competition with queer confidence. We love to see it!

Thorpe, who communicates regularly with his nearly 260,000 followers across social media, posted a message Friday morning from the Sydney Airport on his way to New Zealand, where the Oceania Continental Championships will be held. The 2023 All-Around champion says he was nervous, but then he remembered two crucial factors: he’s gay and caffeinated! (The RuPaul anthem, “Hustle That Cat,” is a nice touch as well.)

The time has come to switch that kitty on
I’m the moment
Hold me
Watch me
I’ll be gone
Can you keep up with me?
Girl, get busy
You better hustle

Thorpe, 23, has plenty of reasons to feel good about his Olympic chances… in addition to the superpower of his gay identity. He’s coming off a gold medal win at the Australia Championships, securing his first victory in the high bar competition.

“AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION on high bar feels correct,” he posted on Instagram. “Worked my a** off on this event over the last few years so super proud to FINALLY have this title to my name. That’s a wrap on a super successful nationals. Now it’s time to rest and recover before Olympic qualifications in exactly 2 weeks time!”

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While Australia won’t be competing as a team in gymnastics, the continent of Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) has one spot for an athlete to compete as an individual. Thorpe has a one-in-eight chance at qualifying.

If he wins the all-around at the Continental Championships, he’s in! The triumph would be a fitting end to Thorpe’s Olympic journey.

He was left off Australia’s team at the 2023 World Championships, even though he won the country’s All-Around competition.

“Regardless of the outcome, a ticket to Paris or not, to be experiencing this joy and confidence in my craft again after everything I’ve been through is truly a gift. That in itself is already a win,” Thorpe posted on Instagram prior to takeoff. “Thank you to each and every single one of you for your unwavering support and love.”

Despite being left off Australia’s World Championships roster (they finished 24th out of 24 teams), Thorpe found his way to the event, anyway. He obtained credentials to work as a journalist, conducting interviews with some of the sport’s biggest stars.

One of his biggest fans, gold medalist Simone Biles, even gave him a special shoutout.

Following the World Championships, Thorpe decided to stay in Europe and train in Belgium, where he was living from October through April.  

Determined to qualify for the Paris Games, Thorpe participated in two training sessions per day with Belgium’s top gymnasts. He provided his followers with an inside look at his intensive regimen at the start of the year.

Appropriately, a track titled “Life gets hard” is playing in the background.

Never one to compromise, Thorpe competes his way. He brings artistry to all of his floor routines, even if the scoring system doesn’t encourage flamboyancy. However, the scoring system is changing to Thorpe’s advantage next year…

When the change was announced, Thorpe celebrated. “Thinking about how I used to get bullied by grown men as a child for doing ‘gay’ releases on high bar and now those very skills will give me one of the highest potential start values in the world next Olympic cycle,” he said.

Thorpe’s orientation is central to his identity as a gymnast, which brings us back to his pre-qualifier post. Caffeinated gays are a force to be reckoned with, right up there with gays who just got their haircut. And though we don’t know Thorpe’s caffeinated beverage of choice, it’s fair to surmise he gravitates towards one above the others: ICED. COFFEE.

The linkage between gays and iced coffee is well established. According to GQ, one of the earliest documentations of the gay community’s relationship with the drink came during an episode of Will & Grace. In Season 3, Episode 11, Jack falls in love with the barista who turns him into a coffee fiend by continuing to give him free drinks before ultimately breaking his heart.

Gays know about heartbreak, and we also know about going against the grain. There is a countercultural element to iced coffee’s appeal.

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Journalist Sam Stryker, a gay man himself, told GQ iced coffee is an extra version of hot coffee, especially if it’s consumed during the frigid winter months.

“I think the joke sort of originated as gays drinking iced coffee in the winter,” he said. “Like, gays will do ridiculous things and there’s something so counterculture about drinking an iced coffee during the winter.”

We all know the look: bundled up, iced coffee in hand, speed walking through the cold streets. The message is clear… “MOVE, I’M GAY.”

There is also a feminine, or extravagant, quality to iced coffee drinks. There are vanilla lattes, caramel swirls and the Godmother of them all: the Frappuccino. If it’s good enough for Britney, it’s good enough for us!

We’re also assuming it’s good enough for Thorpe. The man just finished eating at Australia’s Fashion Week.

It only makes sense for the Olympics to be next!

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