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British swimmer Dan Jervis, 26, has come out as gay ahead of competing in the Commonwealth Games next month.
Jervis, who comes from Wales, won 1500m freestyle silver and bronze at the 2014 and 2018 Games respectively. He also competed for Team GB in the Tokyo Olympics last year, and placed fifth.
Talking on the BBC’s LGBT Sport Podcast, Jervis said he didn’t tell anyone else that he thought he might be gay until he was 24 years old.
“It took me 24 years to be who I am.
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“I was adjusting to everything else, just trying to fit in – until I thought: ‘Just be you.’
“You know, we’re just before the Commonwealth Games and there are going to be kids and adults watching who will know that I’m like them, and that I’m proud of who I am.”
Related: British soccer player Jake Daniels comes out as gay
‘I want them to know the real Dan’ 🏊♂️
Welsh Olympic swimmer Dan Jervis says he wants to inspire others after coming out as gay pic.twitter.com/jsNFSc9CFg
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) June 29, 2022
He continued, “For so long, I hated who I was – and you see it all the time, people who are dying over this. They hate themselves so much that they’re ending their lives.
“So if I can just be that someone people can look at and say, ‘yeah, they’re like me,’ then that’s good.”
He also talked about being a devout Christian, and said his faith had meant it wasn’t easy to embrace his sexuality at first.
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On telling a friend when he was 24, he recalled, “I said to her: ‘I think I’m gay.’ I couldn’t even say: ‘I’m gay.’ I was basically punching the words out.
“She was quite shocked but great, and it was exactly the reaction I wanted. I’ve had all good reactions, and the way I’ve described it is I’m not going to change as a person.
“Everyone’s journey is different, but I think I’ve always known.
“It was something in the back of my mind, bugging me. I thought I was bisexual and had girlfriends that I loved – but it came to about three years ago where I knew I had to deal with this.
“It wasn’t affecting my swimming, but me as a human being. It sounds quite drastic, but I wasn’t enjoying my life. Yeah, I was smiling, but there was something missing to make me properly happy.
“I’m still the Dan you’ve always known. You just know something else about me now.”
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Related: Reality TV star, former Mr International USA, David Barta comes out
Jervis will represent Wales at the Commonwealth Games, which begin July 28th in Birmingham, England.
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Mario
Never heard of him. I doubt this will have any impact on the world-wide gay community.
Hudson_2406
What an ugly, cynical, angry comment. You know what, Sparky? More people know who he is than will ever know who you are.
NexPat
I pity you. Your internal monologue must be awful to live with Mario
Congrats to Dan, his speaking up and living his truth will inspire so many at risk Welsh kids and adults, and push the dialogue forward around the Commonwealth
dbmcvey
Hey Mario. What’s the matter, huh? Are you feeling bad that you haven’t accomplished anything of value at all? Well, you’re right, you haven’t. But hey, you’re not dead yet. You could still be an asset to the world rather than a drain. You could still, maybe, feed a kitten or not kick a puppy.
SK310
Funny, that’s how we feel about you
Bengali
Replace “this” with “I” as you will definitely NOT have any impact.
Mr-DJ
BYEEEE !!
JTinToronto
Who are you?
Bosch
And here’s mario, being a bitch.
LumpyPillows
Mario is the twit most likely to get slapped at every party.
KyleMichelSullivan
Oh, f*ck off, Mario. I’m sick of bitchy queens like you, spitting your opinion everywhere like it matters.
Joshooeerr
C’mon. Don’t be too harsh on Mario. It took guts to admit his complete ignorance and inability to negotiate Google.
SFMike
His voice is much more relevant then yours you bore.
Karlis
Has it not occurred to anyone that “Mario” appears at the top of every comments section specifically because he wants to get everyone else riled up? Ignoring people like this seems a better option.
mailliw110
Never heard of you. I doubt this will have any impact…..oh, nevermind.
PollyDarton
This is a person whom I do not know.
LumpyPillows
Thanks, Polly, because I was wondering if you knew him.
KyleMichelSullivan
So what?
mailliw110
Oh come on Mario!
LumpyPillows
Yeah for our team!
The real Bruce
Hooray for the men of Cardiff and Swansea for bringing us the likes of Daniel Jervis! Best of luck at Commonwealth Games and win big!
KyleMichelSullivan
I’m glad for him. Hope he does well.
nm4047
24, christ if I was changing in a room of ‘swimmers bodies’ I think it would be showing to everyone else my delight. 🙂 Good luck to him. I do find some of the responses on this site often amusing, more often than not you can see the nationality of the commentator by the display of their ignorance of any body from a country other than their own. I’m talking to you Mario. I’m going to suggest, you’d never heard of Tom Daly or Matthew Mitcham until their stories became public. It’s a big world out there and just because you don’t know them doesn’t mean their positive story has a greater bearing on other closeted or young men discovering their own story.