Team LGBTQ

PHOTOS: Gold medalist Tom Daley has a vast collection of Speedos

The 2021 (er…2020?) Olympics are underway in Tokyo, and there are more out LGBTQ athletes vying for gold than in every previous Summer Olympics combined. That amounts to over 160 members of “Team LGBTQ” from around the world. Each day during the games, we’ll spotlight one of these inspiring athletes.

Tom Daley is a husband, a father, and as of Monday, July 26, an Olympic gold medalist. Daley and diving partner Matty Lee scored gold in the men’s synchronized platform dive in Tokyo.

Check out that incredible dive, plus Tom and Matty’s sweet reaction, here:

At a press conference afterwards, Daley reflected on his pride in being an openly gay champion in his sport:

I came out in 2013, and when I was younger I always felt like the one that was alone and different and didn’t fit in, and there was something about me that was never going to be as good as society wanted me to be. I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone and that you can achieve anything, and there is a whole lot of your chosen family out here and ready to support you. I think it’s one of those things that I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I feel very empowered by that…it shows that you can achieve anything.

Watch:

And not to detract from his incredible win, we can’t but notice Tom’s swimwear drawer must be bursting at the seams. He sure does have quite a few pairs by our estimate:

Head here to see all the athletes featured.

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