Makin’ a Splash: 10 Openly Gay Swimmers (and Divers)

Greg Louganis 

Louganis dominated the world of diving in the 80s, racking up four gold medals between the 1984 and 1988 Olympics — two each in springboard and platform. After being diagnosed with HIV in 1988, Louganis came out in his best-selling autobiography, Breaking the Surface, which also gifted the world with Mario Lopez in a speedo for the made-for-TV movie .

And speaking of gifts, Louganis’ 1987 Playgirl spread keeps on giving:

Like Louganis, Goldsmith also contracted HIV but unfortunately he was not as lucky and Bobby died from AID-related complications in 1984. Before that, however, he was a prominent figure in Australia’s gay community and won 17 medals at the first Gay Olympics in San Francisco in 1982. The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation keeps the swimmer’s legacy alive as Australia’s oldest HIV charity.

Hayes went for the gold as part of the freestyle relay team at the 1984 Olympics and managed to parlay that fame into a Vanity Fair cover with Raquel Welch along with his other Grossbusters, as the media dubbed his teammates. He later became the first Olympic gold medalist to compete at the Gay Games in 1990 and the first American Olympic gold medalist to come out publicly in 1992.

Besides having the longest arms in the history of the world, Kowalski is notable for being the first man in almost a century to win medals in all of the 200-m, 400-m and 1500-m freestyle events at the 1996 Olympics. Inspired by Welsh rugby hunk Gareth Thomas, the Aussie Kowalski came out in 2010.

The Canadian with the adorable-sounding last name struck gold at the 1992 Olympics in the 100-m backstroke. He granted an anonymous interview in 1993, along with boxer Mark Leduc, about homophobia in sports before coming out publicly in 1998. He subsequently lost a six-figure contract as a motivational speaker for being “too openly gay,” but he’s since become a prominent gay rights activist.

Though he may not have medaled at an Olympics, Veatch competed at the 1988 Games in Seoul. He was 23 and later recalled that he “had not dealt with my sexuality yet.” He missed the 1992 Games thanks to a pulled hammy but Veach went on to win nine medals at the 1998 Gay Games.

As one of only eleven openly gay athletes at the 2004 Olympic games, Kenkhuis snatched a silver medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, adding to the bronze he won four years earlier in Sydney. The Dutchman retired in 2006 but along the way this happened:

Naiads were water nymphs in ancient Greek mythology so it’s fitting that Diana Nyad became a legendary endurance swimmer. Nyad holds the record for longest ocean swim — 102.5 miles — and at the age of 60 she began her first of four attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida. Her latest attempt, last year, was crippled by jellyfish and a bad storm. Nyad is also an author and motivational speaker and was quick to offer congratulations to fellow out athlete Jason Collins.

Mitcham and his ukulele dove into our hearts at the 2008 Olympics where he won gold in the 10-m platform. The Aussie has been one of the most visible and vocal openly gay athletes — whether promising to dive nude at the 2o12 Olympics or revealing his struggle with drug addiction — in hopes that his openness helps other gay athletes.