Jake Williamson is in the record books.
The out ex-semi-pro soccer stud recently set a British and world record for Hyrox, completing his run in 56:44.
The competition, which is exploding in the U.K. fitness world, includes a 1-km run (about .6 miles) and one functional movement. Competitors repeat that cycle eight times.
Though Williamson underwent back surgery just five weeks ago, he came away victorious.
“It felt quite comfortable on the day so I’m excited to go even faster,” he told Outsports. “I just now need to be able to do the same at that heavier weight.”
Williamson celebrated his accomplishment on Instagram with a heart-palpating video of his win.
“World Record Holder!!,” he posted. “You don’t say that every day.”
That’s right!
If there was any doubt about the physical toll of Hyrox, Williamson included a photo of himself vomiting into a trash bin.
We’re not gonna show you that one… but we will embed another video of his big victory!
This one is 🔥🔥🔥.
Williamson first spoke publicly about his sexuality in December 2021, when he told the BBC LGBT Sports Podcast he was originally in denial of his same-sex attraction, due to the lack of out role models in male pro athletics.
“You push it so far to the back of your mind that you never act on any sort of urges, obviously, because you personally don’t think it’s OK,” he said. “It says a lot about role models and feeling accepted in a community when there isn’t really a community to be part of.”
With his own history in mind, Williamson shares his story with anybody who will listen. He doesn’t want any young gay soccer player or athlete to feel alienated from the sport they love.
To help accomplish that, he’s partnered with multiple companies and organizations, including Stonewall U.K. and the fitness brand NOBULL.
During Pride Month, Williamson made a couple of speeches around the U.S. representing NOBULL.
At first glance, it seems as if Williamson’s life post-coming out has been linear. But that’s not the case: he’s suffered setbacks as well.
When reflecting on his World Record win, he opened up about the hardships he’s endured.
“This time last year I had just been made redundant from a sales job at a lighting manufacturer (I’ll blame Covid for that job choice),” he wrote on Instagram. “Was still struggling with elements of shame and anxiety about my sexuality and who I was and what I was going to achieve. “
But then Williamson got back into fitness, and found the power in being proud.
“I started posting more videos about being gay in sport and realized that a lot of people could really benefit from seeing someone in the sporting industry own their sexuality and be proud of the life they lead,” he wrote.
“Once I did this my ability to train and athletic performance just kept improving.”
That’s a line we hear all the time from gay athletes: once they come out, their performance takes off. No longer burdened with secrets, they are free to be themselves.
One of the people whom Williamson credits for his gay awakening is his partner, Paul.
Williamson’s visibility is inspiring, but it can also invite backlash on occasion.
In an interview last year with Pink News, he said some of his teammates in a weekend Birmingham soccer league weren’t supportive when he first told them he was gay.
“I was completely shut out of the team,” Williamson said. “It’s bad enough that, in the society we live in, we get made to feel like we’re the worst thing on earth sometimes–so it’s not nice when your own football team just cuts you off.”
The taunts didn’t drive Williamson away from the field, however. They motivated him to keep showing up.
“It’s bad enough that, in the society we live in, we get made to feel like we’re the worst thing on earth sometimes, so it’s not nice when your own football team just cuts you off,” he said. “It didn’t stop me playing football but it was something that made me say: ‘Right, I need to address this rather than be sad about it.’”
The only out gay Hyrox athlete, Williamson says he finds it strange the company hasn’t publicly celebrated his milestone.
“Hyrox as a business hasn’t mentioned the record or the fact I’m a gay athlete at all yet,” he told Outsports. “I fear people who haven’t gone through certain difficulties just don’t have an awareness of how powerful visibility Is.”
We understand the power of visibility at Queerty, and we appreciate Williamson’s efforts. Now that he’s back competing, we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next.
In the meantime, we have plenty of memories we would like to look over…
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CatholicXXX
100%
Masc to the front of the line please
Diplomat
Love the bond